EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT

SECRETARY

Plassacljusdts ^m)i ai %^xm\lkxt,

TOGETHER WITH

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

APPOINTED TO VISIT THE COUNTY SOCIETIES,

AVITH. A.N APPElsTDIX

CONTAINING AN ABSTRACT OF THE

FINANCES OF THE COUNTY SOCIETI

18 60,

BOSTON:

WILLIAJVI WHITE, PRINTER TO THE STATE.
1861.

b a ■ ■ ^

STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
1861.

MEMBERS EX OFFIOIIS.

His Excellency JOHN A. ANDREW.

His Honor JOHN Z. GOODRICH.

Hon. OLIVER WARNER, Secretan/ nf the Commonwealth.

APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL.

^VILLIAM S. CLARK, of Amherst.
EPHRAIM W. BULL, of Concord.
MARSHALL P. WILDER, of Dorchester.

MEMBERS CHOSEN BY THE SOCIETIES.

Massachusetts, RICHARD S. FAY, of Boston. '

Essex, GEORGE B. LORING, of Salem.

Middlesex, JOHN B. MOORE, of Concoi-d.

Middlesex, Nokth, .... JOHN C BARTLETT, of Chelmsford.

Middlesex, South, HENRY H. PETERS, of Southhormigh.

Worcester, JOHN BROOKS, of Princeton.

Worcester, West, FREEMAN WALKER, o/ A^owA ^rooAyZeW.

Worcester, North, .... JABEZ FISHER, of Fitchburg.

Worcester, South, .... OLIVER C. FELTON, of Brookfield.

Worcester, South-East, . . . HENRY CHAPIN, of Milfm-d.

Hampshire, Franklin and Hajipdkn, . MOSES STEBBINS, of South Deerjidd.

Habipshire, LEVI STOCKBRIDGE, of Hadley.

Highland, MATTHEW SMITH, of Middlefield.

Hampden, GEORGE M. ATWATER, of Springfield.

Hampden, East, SHERMAN CONVERSE, of Monson.

Franklln, JAI^IES S. GRENNELL, of Greenfield.

Berkshire, HENRY COLT, of Pitlsfield.

HousATONic, SAMUEL H. BUSHNELL, of Sheffield.

HoosAO Valley, JOSEPH WHITE, of Williamstoim.

Norfolk, CHARLES C. SEW ALL, of MedfieU.

Bristol, NATHAN DURFEE, of Fall River.

Plymouth, CHARLES G. DAVIS, of Plymouth.

Barnstable, GEORGE MARSTON, of Barnstable.

Naotdcket, EDWARD W. GARDNER, of Nantucket.

Martha's Vineyard, .... CHARLES B. ALLEN, of West Tisbury.

CHARLES L. FLINT, Secretary.

EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT

SECRETARY

BOARD OP AGRICULTURE

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Common-
ivealth of Massachusetts.

At the close of my last Annual Report, I alluded to the fact
that an alarming disease among cattle had broken out in certain
sections of this Commonwealth, which threatened to affect most
seriously the prosperity of our agriculture. That disease had
been introduced into this country in importations of cattle from
the continent of Europe, where it had been shown to be con-
tagious and fatal in the highest degree. More than one govern-
ment had, by neglect on its first appearance, suffered it to get
beyond control, and the loss of millions of dollars was the con-
sequence. It was, therefore, an evil of sufficient magnitude
to command the prompt action of the legislature, to eradicate
it entirely from our own stock, or at all events to prevent it, if
possible, from becoming a national calamity.

After very great delays incident to legislation, during which
the disease was rapidly gaining ground, a commission was estab-
lished for the purpose of exterminating it, and an appropriation
of ten thousand dollars placed at the control of the commission-
ers by an Act signed by the governor on the fourth of April.
So rapid had been its progress, however, and so numerous had
1*

6 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

been the exposures of sound animals to the infection, that the
most energetic measures were required, and the appropriation
was soon exhausted without having fully accomplished the
object for which it was made. Under the circumstances it was
deemed advisable to call an extra session of the State Board of
Agriculture to meet at the State House on the 15th of May.
At this meeting. Dr. Loring, as one of the commissioners, laid
before the Board the following

MEMORIAL.

To the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture :

The Commissioners appointed under the Act of the legislature of
Massachusetts to extirpate the disease called Pleuro-Pneumonia, now
existing in certain towns in the Commonwealth, have been for several
weeks endeavoring to accomplish the work assigned them. The dilii-
culties under which they labored at the outset were very great. The
disease had existed for many months in the locality to which it had been
transplanted. By sales and exchange of animals, it had been scattered
abroad throughout a section of country whose chief business is agricul-
ture, and where the isolation of many of the farms rendered it difficult
to trace it. The delay incident to legislation, had complicated and ex-
tended the trouble. An entire insufficiency of funds appropriated for
the purpose, checked the work of extermination and the unexpected
extent of territory which contained the infection, and througli which the
Commissioners have been obliged to feel their way, rendered their task
perplexing and burdensome to the highest degree. They found,
moreover, that beyond a narrow circuit where the disease had done its
Avork of actual destruction, the public mind was not aroused to a sense
of the danger. The formers who were more remote from the scene
of the catastrophe were reposing in confidence, and were even congratu-
lating themselves upon their safety, while they were daily inviting tlie
incendiary to their homesteads. jSot'.iing but a series of facts, established
with great labor and delay l)y the Commissioners, aroused them to a full
sense of their danger. And it was not till the certainty of the infection
was demonstrated beyond a doubt that they remembered how carelessly
tlii'v had ])urchased animals from the original seat of the disease, or had
worked their teams in connection with those belonging to a distempered
herd, or had fed their cattle in infected stables, or had paused by the
roadside to discuss with a neighbor the condition of some sickly creature
which was then breathing death into the nostrils of its dumb com-
panions.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 7

The diiriculties which existed in tlie outset have not diminished, as
the work has gone on, and its extent has opened. Where there was at
first apathy there is now alarm. The calls to investigate districts where
the slightest suspicion rests, are incessant. Discoveries of recent
exposure are numerous ; and already the Commissionei's fear that, in
spite of their untiring efforts to pursue every animal that can possibly
have carried the disease with him, and to extirpate every vestige of his
path, some may have escaped them, and have carried the disease beyond
their reach. In addition to this, herds that have been confined through
the winter are now roaming over the pastures, and unless the infection
is checked at once, no man can tell the devastation which must attend
its course as it goes on from one enclosure to another, eluding the
strictest vigilance and defying the most careful investigation.

In spite of all obstacles, the Commissioners have not hesitated to go
to the fullest extent of their powers in the discharge of their duty.
They have destroyed all that gave the slightest appearance of disease,
from the poor man's single cow to the large and choice collections of the
most extensive farmers. They have explored every spot which has
been brought to their notice as having been in any way exposed, and
have endeavored to ascertain the hmits beyond which it seems impossible
that the disease can have progressed.

The central point of the infected district, it is well known, is North
Brookfield, the farm of Leonard Stoddard, into which the disease was
thoughtlessly and innocently introduced, and fz'om which it has been
allowed carelessly, to go out. Around this spot the destruction is
complete ; but few animals, indeed, being left in the unfortunate town.
The disease has been discovered in the north, in those parts of New
Braintree, Oakham and Rutland, lying contiguous to North Brookfield ;
on the east, in Spencer ; on the south, in Brookfield and Sturbridge, and
on the west, in West Brookfield, Ware, and Warren, It is believed
that the precise course and extent of the disease have been explored in
each of those towns.

The number of persons whose cattle have been condemned or destroy-
ed, is 75. The number of animals already marked or killed, is 750.

The Commissioners wish they could assure the Board of Agriculture
and the community that their work will end here. But they cannot.
The fire that is wasting prairie and forest may apparently be quenched
for a time, and it is only when, on the distant horizon, its terrific work
is painted, and heaven and earth seems all ablaze, that the insidious and
appaUing power of the illusive element comes home to the heart of its
pursuers.

This is not the time nor the place to enter into an investigation of the
history and character of the disease — that, it is hoped, may be done

8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

hereafter. But it is important tliat tlic ])ublic should know and appre-
ciate the full extent of the contagion. That the disease is peculiar to
itself there can be no doubt whatever. The name Pleuro-Pneumonia,
which lias been applied to it, and which in its ordinary acceptation
signifies inflammation occupying the pleura and lung at the same time,
does not by any means indicate its true character. The inflammatory
stage of the disease is hardly perceptible. But throughout the substance
of the lungs, and in the membrane covering them and lining the cavity
of the chest, there seems to have been diffused a morbific poison, under
the influence of which the vitality of the parts is threatened with speedy
destruction. The contagion is inevitable. Wherever an animal has
been exposed, in that animal the disease is sure to be found. Every
creature that went from Leonard Stoddard's herd carried the malady
with him, and imparted it wherever he went. In no case has an
animal been examined on account of its history, that the disease has
not been found in a greater or less degree. In whatever herd* the
disease exists, the animal that cai'ried it there can be pointed out, and
his exposure traced back to that wretched calf that went from Belmont
to North Brookfield. The disease is not epidemic. It is not found
except as the result of contagion. It has broken out in no spot without
a known and well authenticated cause. But it passes from animal to
animal in its deadly career, marking every victim that comes within its
fatal grasp as surely as the water of Tofana or the poison of Brinvilliers.
To keep the plague within its present limits, and to draw a cordon
around the infected district, is now the great object of the Commissioners
— a work which the nature of the disease renders practicable, and Avhich
nothing but public apathy and inaction will prevent. They have only
to ask that public sentiment Avill sustain them in staying the ravages of
an enemy which, once allowed toroamunrebuked, would strike a destruc-
tive blow at the great industry of our country — that industry upon which
we all depend, and whose security from panic and crisis is exemplified
by the everlasting hills upon which it rests. Standing upon the high
lands of the diseased region, the beholder can cast his eye over miles of
beautiful swelling pastures, the richest, by far, in our State, where roam
thousands of cattle, the solid wealth and active force in the agriculture
of an industrious people. The destroyer has laid its hand upon the very
heart of his victim. . In no section of our State could the consequences
of his reign be so disastrous as in that which he now threatens ; and in
none is the opportunity for his progress so great. The soul sickens at
the thought of his escape ; for should his sway become supreme, and
north and south, east and west, mountain and prairie and savannah, hill
and valley, own his sceptre, who can tell the consequences ? To say that

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 9

millions would be lost in a business whose profits are counted by units ;
to say that fear and despair would take the place of hope and security, is
to tell but half the story. For in our very homes with the nourishment
upon which our lives depend, we should daily bring the seeds of disease
and decay. Let those who would charge the Commissioners with
recklessness of animal life, remember this, and know that when the task
of extermination is abandoned in despair, if abandoned it is, a rich and
prosperous country is delivered over to blight and a curse ; to the
" pestilence which walketh in darkness, and to the destruction which
wasteth at noonday."

That this is no exaggerated picture, let the present condition of the towns
and farms already visited by the disease bear witness. Stripped of the
vital force which gave existence to their agriculture, they present the
sad and mournful picture which nature always spreads over the deserted
haunts of man. Farming without cattle — a ship without sails, a mill
without machinery, a city without inhabitants, the world without man.
Of those held in suspense, too, the condition is scarcely less wretched ;
wift a prospect before them of a constant struggle against disease, in
which the expense and risk of cattle-husbandry are increased a hundred
fold, and the present safety and vigor of health are exchanged for an
enfeebled condition.

In discharging their duty, the Commissioners desire the aid and
counsel of those interested in agriculture. With a very few exceptions,
they have found the farmers immediately aflfected by the disease, prompt
to act in its suppression, and ready to impart any information necessary
to a thorough accomplishment of the work. The advice and sympathy
of many of the agricultural societies have been given through their
agents who have visited the spot. Liberal contributions have been made
to a guaranty fund, to provide against any delinquency which it seems
impossible should occur in the action of any future legislature toward
compensating the sufferers from this terrible calamity.

It seems proper, that, in addition to this, the State Board of Agricul-
ture should make such I'ecommendations as may prevent the progress of
the disease, and should sustain the Commissioners by all means in their
power. It is highly important that suggestions should be made to the
several societies with regard to suspending their exhibitions of cattle
the coming autumn ; and that an effort should be made to induce each
society to relinquish its annual appropriation from the State, for the
purpose of rendering the financial burden as light as possible.

It is for these and other reasons that the Commissioners have called
the attention of the Board to the subject, with the assurance that their
call will not be in vain, and with the belief that no subject has been

10 BOARD OF ACxRICULTURE.

brought before them more important in all its bearing-, or more entitled
to prompt and energetic action.

(Signed.) PAOLI LATIIROP,

AMASA WALKER,
GEORGE B. LORING,

Commissioners.
North Brookfield, May 15, 1860,

A committee was appointed to cooperate with the commis-
sioners, who entered at once upon their duties ; but the want of
funds adequate to the exigencies of the case was calculated to
embarrass their operations, and render it doubtful whether the
disease could be arrested.

Public sentiment demanded an extra session of the legisla-
ture. This was called to meet on the 30th of May. The
number and powers of the commissioners were enlarged, and a
Medical Board established for the examination of the dise^e.
The Act passed at this session, and approved by the governor
on the 12th of June, required that the report of the commis-
sioners and of the medical board should appear in this volume.

These reports, submitted to the legislature on the lOtli
of January, are as follows :

REPORT

OF TUE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED FOR THE EXTIRPATION OF THE
DISEASE AMONG CATTLE, CALLED PLEURO-PNEUMONIA.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Common-
wealth of Massadmsetts.

In submitting this Report, as required by the Act under
which they were appointed, the Commissioners propose to con-
fine themselves, almost exclusively to a narrative of facts,
believing that such a course will be most acceptable to the legis-
lature, and most useful to the public. In doing this, they will
be obliged to repeat some things already published.

On the 29th day of February, 18G0, a petition was presented
to the legislature of this Commonwealth, signed by sundry
inhabitants of North Brookfield, praying that a law might bo

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 11

enacted for the extirpation of a disease amongst cattle, tlicn
raging in that town and its neighborhood. Tliis was followed
by petitions of a similar import from New Braintree, signed by-
Samuel Mixter and others ; from Hardwick, signed by Joseph
Powers and others ; and from Barre, signed by Edward Denny
and others. A memorial in behalf of the Massachusetts Society
for the Promotion of Agriculture, for the same object, was also
presented.

These petitions were referred to the Committee on Agricul-
ture ; and several distinguished gentlemen, connected with the
agricultural interest, appeared before the committee, in aid of
the petitioners, urging the necessity of immediate legislation.

On the 21st day of March, "Resolves, in relation to a conta-
gious disease amongst cattle, in the towns of North Brookfield
and New Braintree," were presented by Mr. Eldridge, of the Com-
mittee on Agriculture,which, after discussion, were recommitted.
March 23d, the same were reported in a new draft, entitled,
" Resolves, to prevent the spread of the disease, called Pleuro-
pneumonia, amongst the cattle of this Commonwealth."
]\Iarch 2oth, the Resolves were read a second time, and laid
upon the table. March 28th, they were taken from the table,
and amended, by substituting a "Bill to extirpate the disease,
called Pleuro-Pneumonia amongst cattle ;" which passed its
several stages, and was approved April 4th. It was as follows :

AN ACT

TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXTIRPATION OF THE DISEASE CALLED
PLEURO-PNETJMONIA, AMONG CATTLE.

Be it enacted, 8fc., as follows :

Sect. 1. The governor is hereby authorized to appoint three com-
missioners, who shall visit without delay the several places in this Com-
monwealth, where the disease among cattle, called pleuro-pneumonia,
may be known or suspected to exist, and shall have full power to cause
all cattle belonging to the herds in which the disease has appeared, or
may appear, or which have belonged to such herds since the disease
may be known to have existed therein, to be forthwitli killed and buried,
and the premises where such cattle have been kept, cleansed and puri-
fied ; and to make such order in relation to the further use and occupa-
tion of such premises as may seem to them to be necessary to i)revent
the extension of the disease.

12 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Skct. 2. The commissioners shall cause all cattle, in the aforesaid
herds, not appearing to be affected by the disease, to be appraised before
being killed, at what would have been their fair market value if the
disease had not existed ; and the value of the cattle thus appraised shall
be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth to the
owner or owners thereof.

Skct. 3. Any person who shall knowingly disregard any lawful
order or direction of said commissioners, or who shall sell or otherwise
dispose of an animal which he knows, or has good reason to suspect has
been exposed to the aforesaid disease, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding
five hundred dollars.

Sect. 4. The commissioners shall make a full report to the secretary
of the board of agriculture, of their proceedings, and of the result of
their observations and inquiries relative to the nature and character of
the disease.

Sect. 5. The commissioners shall duly certify all allo^vances made
under the second section of this act, and other expenses incurred by
them, or under their direction, in the execution of their service, to the
governor and council ; and the governor is hereby authorized to draw
his warrant therefor upon the treasury.

Sect. G. This act shall take effect from its passage, and continue in
force for the terra of one year thereafter, and no longer. — \^App7-0ved
April 4, 1860.

From the foregoing statements, it will appear that from the
first presentation of the subject to the legislature, to the final
passage of the law, was an interval of thirty-five days. This
delay, and consequent loss of time, was most unfortunate, and
cost the Commonwealth a great part of the entire amount
expended under this commission. Had the law, as was hoped,
been enacted, within one week after the petitions were pre-
sented, the whole work of extirpation might have been fully
accomplished, while the herds were in winter quarters.

On the 6th of April, Paoli Lathrop, of South Hadley ; Rich-
ard S. Fay, of Lynn ; and Amasa Walker, of North Brookfield,
were appointed Commissioners to carry out the provisions of
the law, and entered upon their duties five days after. The
circumstances which induced the different towns to move for
the enactment of the foregoing law were essentially as follows.

On the 29th of June, 1859, Mr. Curtis Stoddard, of North
Brookfield, bought of Mr. Winthrop W. Chenery, of Belmont,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 13

three calves, which he brought by rail to West Brookfield, and
thence to his farm in North Brookfield. On the way from the
depot one of the calves was observed to falter, and in two or
three days became very sick. Mr. Leonard Stoddard, father of
Curtis Stoddard, thinking that he could cure the calf, carried
it to his own barn, in which were about forty head of cattle.
The calf grew no better and after four days young Stoddard
took it back to his own premises, where in about ten days it
died. About a fortnight after the calf left Leonard Stoddard's
farm one of his oxen that had been fed in the barn where the
calf was kept became sick and died after a two weeks' illness.
Two weeks after this, another ox sickened and died, and
another, and another, until thirteen oxen and cows had died, and
as subsequently appeared, his whole stock had become greatly
diseased.

Mr. Curtis Stoddard lost no animal by infection, that is, none
died on his hands, up to the date of the commission. But the
sick calf, while it lived, had been kept in such a position that a
large part of his stock, consisting of twenty head or more,
were brought into near contact with it, and thus were exposed
to infection. By this statement it will be seen that from the
very commencement two distinct centres of infection were
formed: one at the younger Stoddard's, who brought the
diseased calf from Belmont, the other at his father's, where the
same calf had been kept for four days. The latter centre
proved to be far the most disastrous and fatal, as will be seen
in the progress of the narrative.

Mr. Leonard Stoddard kept many oxen and was engaged
largely in the transportation of wood, timber, <fec. Of course
his cattle were constantly on the road, and often brought into
contact with animals belonging to other herds. He was also a
large dealer in cattle, often buying, selling and exchanging.
Although his cattle began to die in August, no suspicions of
the contagious nature of the disease seem to have been enter-
tained, and on the 15th of October he sold a cow to C. P. Hunt-
ington, of North Brookfield, about two miles distant, who had
a herd of twenty cows and two oxen. Not long after the pur-
chase of this cow, it sickened and died, and one after another
of his cows were attacked, until he had lost eight animals,
2*

14 . BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

while as many more gave evidence of disease. This established
another centre of infection, from which the disease spread in
the neighborhood.

On or about the 1st of December, Leonard Stoddard sold a
yoke of oxen to liis neighbor, Mr. Alden Olmstead. These
cattle were apparently in health, and no suspicions were enter-
tained in regard to them. Mr. Olmstead kept them in his
barn for five days with a herd of more than twenty head, and
then exchanged them with Mr. William F. Doane, who lives a
mile distant. In a short time Mr. Olmstead's cattle became
sick and successively died, until he had lost about one-third of
them, and the remainder were greatly, many of them fatally
diseased.

Mr. Leonard Stoddard also sold an animal to Mr. A. A.
Needham, of New Braintree. The result was, Mr. Needham's
herd of twenty-three head became greatly diseased and died
rapidly, until he had lost about a third part of them, and the
rest had become badly infected. Mr. Leonard Stoddard often
passed the barn of A. B. Woodis and fed his oxen in Woodis'
barn, whose cattle, about twenty in number, began to sicken
and die, until his herd was in as bad a condition as that of Mr.
Needham.

Such in general were the facts, when on the eleventh of
April last, the Commissioners entered upon their duties. Only
the five herds already mentioned, namely, those of Leonard
Stoddard, Alden B. Woodis, A. A. Needham, Alden Olmstead
and C. P. Huntington, were certainly known to be diseased.
Curtis Stoddard's cattle had been previously disposed of, chiefly
at an auction, held on the 2d of November, and though not
then known to be diseased, were subsequently found so ; some
of them very badly.

After visiting the above herds and satisfying themselves that
tlie disease existed in all of them, the Commissioners decided
on the following course of action. Since none of their number,
as the commission was then organized, were men of medical
science, or had any knowledge of the disease, beyond their
present observation, they determined to employ the best veteri-
nary surgeons of the Commonwealth, to advise with themselves,
to decide what animals " appeared to be diseased," before being
killed ; and to make such post mortem examinations as would

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 15

throw light on the nature and symptoms of the disease. Both
these points seemed of importance, that it might be intelligently
determined what animals were to be paid for according to law ;
and that the public might gain a knowledge of the fatal
malady.

Accordingly, Dr. E. F. Thayer and Dr. George H. Dadd,
well known veterinary surgeons of Boston, were selected, and
gave their attendance at most of the examinations made
througliout the proceedings of the commission. Drs. 0. Martin
and J. N. Bates, of Worcester, George N. Bates, of Boston,
and Warren Tyler, of North Brookfield, all of the regular
medical profession, were also in attendance at many of the
examinations. Other gentlemen of the profession were present
at different times as spectators.

The first step in regard to any suspected herd was to order
an examination by the surgeons. If they decided that the dis-
ease existed in the herd, they were next directed to select from
the whole number " such as appeared not to be diseased." The
whole herd was then slaughtered. Those which had been con-
demned before as " appearing to be diseased," were not paid
for ; the rest were. By this course of procedure, all disputes
and differences with the owners were prevented. The whole
question was referred to those who were believed to be most
competent to decide it ; and the subsequent action of the Com-
missioners was regulated by their Report.

In examining and disposing of the first five herds, in which
the pleuro-pneumonia was so very conspicuous, the Commis-
sioners discovered that certain other herds had been greatly
exposed ; and had begun to exhibit marked symptoms of tlie
disease. For example, the neat stock of Mr. Lewis E. Hill,
(occupying a farm adjoining that of Leonard Stoddard,) which
had run, during the last fall feed, in fields only separated
from Stoddard's cattle by a common fence, or stone-wall, were
evidently sick. Examinations were at once made ; very severe
cases were found, the herd was condemned, and in some
instances the autopsies showed conclusively that Mr. Hill's
cattle were in the same general condition with those of his
neighbor. The same was found to be the case, though not in a
degree as strongly marked, with the cattle of Mr. John Hill,
which had a similar connection with Stoddard's. The cattle of

IG BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Mr. S. PI. Bigelow, whose farm lay near that of Mr. C. P.
Huntingtoii, were found in a bad condition. Their greatest,
though not the only exposure, is believed to have been from
Huntington's sick cattle, driven at different times past the
barnyard in which Bigclow's oxen had been kept. This case
of Bigelow was regarded as a very alarming one, showing the
exceeding contagiousness of the disease ; for if the herd could
be so fatally infected, under such circumstances, it was almost
certain that the disease had been extensively propagated.

Another fact of great significance was soon presented. We
have already mentioned that Leonard Stoddard sold a ydke of
oxen to Mr. Olmstead, who, after keeping them for five days,
sold them to W. F. Doane. A few days afterwards, namely,
on December 19th, Mr. Doane joined them with a team of
twenty-four yoke of oxen, to remove a building from Oakham
to North Brookfield. Investigation satisfied the surgeons that
nearly all the cattle connected with this large team took the
infection, and communicated it to the different herds to which
they belonged. This opened a wide field of exposure, and
caused the destruction of many cattle.

Another cause of extensive mischief, was the sale and disper-
sion of Curtis Stoddard's herd by the auction before alluded to.
These cattle were purchased by several different persons ; and,
at the time, appeared well. No suspicion was felt by purchaser
or seller, that any contagious disease was here concealed. This
was evident from the readiness with which bids were made ;
and, from the fact, that Mr. Stoddard reserved the most
valualjlc animals of his stock, which, as he was breaking up
his farm-establishment, he placed, for keeping, in the herds of
his friends, his father, his father-in-law, and liis uncle. It
proved, however, when investigation was made, that the disease
did exist extensively among these cattle. When killed, some
of them, especially hie own, were found to be deeply infected.

The Commissioners used their best efforts to trace out all
cases of exposure ; and, so far as possible, to exterminate all
herds in which the disease was clearly manifested ; the latter
being a question which they always referred to their professional
advisers. They were resolved to execute the law in the most
efficient manner ; and to extirpate the disease, if that were
possible.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 17

Under these circumstances, the Commissioners had proceeded
but two weeks, when one of their number, R. S. Fay, Esq.,
much to the regret of his colleagues, having pressing engage-
ments, resigned his commission. A few days after. Dr. George
B. Loring, of Salem, was appointed in his place.

The work was then continued, with great assiduity ; but the
ramifications of the disease were found to be vastly more exten-
sive than was first supposed. All these were traced as far as
the Commissioners could determine, to their utmost limits ; and
wherever, in the opinion of the surgeons, and their own best
judgment, the disease was found to exist, even in the incipient
stage, the herd was condemned, and disposed of. As these
cases multiplied, the labors of the Commissioners became more
arduous ; although, in almost every case, they received the
hearty assistance of those whose herds were involved in these
operations.

They had, however, proceeded in their work but a few weeks,
when it became painfully evident, that the appropriation made
by the legislature ($10,000) was altogether inadequate to the
work assigned them. No time, however, was to be lost, if the
work were to be done at all. The cattle would soon leave their
stalls, and be scattered upon a thousand hills, where, if the
material for contagion existed, it would soon be so widely
diffused, that all attempts at extermination would be futile.

An agreement was, therefore, drawn up, of which the follow-
ing is a copy : —

" The undersigned liereby agree, that if the Commissioners appointed
to extirpate the disease amongst cattle, see fit, in the discharge of their
duty, to kill any or all of the cattle belonging to our i-espective herds,
we will wait for our compensation for the same if necessary, until the
legislature shall make additional appropriations for the purpose ; pro-
vided, however, that in case the legislature fail to make such appro-
priations, we retain our claim upon the guai'antee fund, which has
already been, or which may hereafter be subscribed for that purpose."

This agreement was very readily and generally signed by
those Whose cattle were supposed to be infected. The Com-
missioners did not feel disposed, however, even- with this j)er-
mission on the part of owners, to proceed in their work without
some assurance that the cattle destroyed should ultimately be

18

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

paid for ; and they accordingly proposed to some of the agri-
cultural societies, and leading friends of agriculture, to open a
subscriijtion, wliich should guarantee, that if the legislature
failed at its next session to make the requisite appropriations,
they would, respectively pay the sums set against their names,
to indemnify the owners.

In answer to this appeal, the following, amongst other sub-
scriptions, were received : —

" Believing it to be of the highest importance that the fatal di^iease
amongst cattle, known as pleuro-pneumonia should be at once and fully
extirpated; and that the sum of $10,000 ap[)ropriated for that purpose
by the legislature, is adequate thereto, (the Commissioners not having
power to go beyond that sum,) the undersigned hereby agree to be held
responsible to said Commissioners, to the amount set against our respec-
tive names, so that, in case the next legislature does not appropriate the
necessary amount to meet the expenses incurred by the Commissioners
aforesaid, we agree to be assessed pro rata, upon our subscriptions, for
the balance."

(Signed)

Trustees of the Massachu-

George Baty Blake,

$100

setts Society for Promotion

Marshall P. Wilder,

100

of Agriculture, by Thomas

E. P. Tileston, .

100

Motley, Jr., .

$2,000

Edm. Munroe, .

100

Henry II. Peters,

1,000

Joseph Burnett,

500

H. A. Rice, .

100

Moses G. Cobb,

100

George W. Lyman, .

200

Charles McBurney, .

100

John G. Tappan,

100

Abbott Lawrence, .

100

Samuel Cooper,

100

Nourse, Mason & Co.,

100

Albert liallard,

100

W. H. Sampson,

100

Caleb T. Fay, .

100

Lee Claflin,

100

Andrew J. Peters, .

100

Isaac Stickney,

100

Josiah Stickney,

100

George B. Sampson,

100

Andrew Pierce,

100

Thomas Motley, Jr., .

100

J. W. Paige, .

100

Franklin King,

100

Josiah Quincy, Jr., .

100

James II. Jenks,

100

William Buckminster,

100

S. F. Alderman,

100

0. Bennett,

. .100

.Tohn Hunt,

. 100

E. F. Knight & Co., .

100

AVilliam A. Phipps, .

200

Benjamin D.^ Godfrey,

300

Thomas Corey,

100

A. Andrews, .

100

J. A. Fairweathcr, .

100

Abiel S. Lewis,

100

Plymouth Ag. Society,

200

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 19

Many other subscriptions were made in different parts of the
State, amounting it is supposed, to $15,000 to $20,000. For-
tified and encouraged by these spontaneous expressions of
confidence, from that class most deeply interested, the Commis-
sioners continued their efforts until the twentieth of May, when
it became evident that the altered circumstances ^n which they
were placed, required a change of policy. The cattle were
now generally in the pastures, scattered far and wide, over
several towns, and numbering in all, more than a thousand
head, which had been more or less exposed to contact with
animals that were at least suspected. It seemed to the
Commissioners that the disease was nearly extirpated ; but
the danger that great numbers of cattle niig-ht have it in a
latent form, appeared, judging from experience, to be imminent.
It seemed unwise to kill animals on mere suspicion ; yet, if the
disease was to be entirely removed, not a single case must be
left from which it could be propagated. If these suspected
herds could be placed under restraint, be guarded and watched,
and if necessary, isolated until it would be fully determined
that they were free from the disease, a great many cattle might
be saved and yet the public made secure.

Furthermore, the Commissioners had already exceeded the
appropriation by $15,000 ; and although the owners of cattle
killed had, as before stated, agreed to wait for compensation
until another session of the legislature, it would be to them a
very great hardship since they needed their pay in order to
re-stock their farms with horses to take the place of oxen for
labor ; and with sheep for their pastures instead of cows.

Under these circumstances the Commissioners determined
to request the governor to call an extra session of the legisla-
ture. In this matter they received the co-operation of numer-
ous petitions from different towns in the Commonwealth, and
from the committee of the State Board of Agriculture. Until
the legislature should assemble and take action on the subject,
the Commissioners determined to take the responsibility to
cease the killing of any additional herds, and so far as in their
power, to secure the public from all further exposure, by such
isolation as they could effect in the absence of the requisite
legal authority.

20 BOARP OF AGRICULTURE.

The legislature met on the thirtieth of May ; and the entire
history of the case was presented to the large and able commit-
tee to which the matter was referred. Numerous persons gave
evidence in relation to the disease, amongst them many
gentlemen of the medical faculty ; and after long and careful
consideration^ the following law was enacted and received the
sanction of the executive on the twelfth of June.

AN ACT

CONCERNING CONTAGIOUS DISEASES AMONG CATTLE.

Section 1. The selectmen of towns and the mayor and aldermen of
cities, in case of the existence in this CommonweaUh of the disease called
pleuro-pneumonia, or any other contagious diseases among cattle, shall
cause the cattle in their respective towns and cities, which are infected,
or which have been exposed to infection, to be secured or collected in
some suitable place or places, Avithin such city or town, and kept isolated;
and when taken from the possession of their owners, to be maintained,
one-fifth of the expense thereof to be paid by the town or city wherein
the animal is kept, and four-fifths at the expense of the Commonwealth,
such isolation to continue so long as the existence of such disease or
other circumstances renders the same necessary.

Sect. 2. Said selectmen and mayor and aldermen, when any such
animal is adjudged, by a veterinary surgeon or physician by them selected,
to be infected with the disease, called pleuro-pneumonia, or any other
contagious disease, may, in their discretion, order such diseased animal
to be forthwith killed and buried at the expense of such town or city.

Sect. 3. Such selectmen and mayor and aldermen shall cause all
cattle which they shall so order to be killed, to be appraised by three com-
petent and disinterested men, under oath, at the value thereof at the time
of the api)raisal, and the amount of the appraisal shall be paid as pro-
vided in the first section.

Sect. 4. Said selectmen and mayor and aldermen are hereby author-
ized to prohibit the departure of cattle from any enclosure, or to exclude
cattle therefrom.

Sect. 5. Said selectmen and mayor and aldermen may make regu-
lations in writing to regulate or prohibit the passage from, to, or through
their respective cities or towns, or from place to place within the same, of
any neat cattle, and may arrest and detain at the cost of the owners there-
of, all cattle found passing in violation of such regulations, and may take
all other necessary measures for the enforcement of such prohibition, and
also, for preventing the spread of any such disease among the cattle in
their respective towns and cities, and the immediate vicinity thereof.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 21

Sect. 6. The regulations made by selectmen and mayox" and aldermen ,
in pursuance of the foregoing section, shall be recorded upon the rec-
ords of their towns and cities respectively, and shall be published in such
towns and cities in such manner as may be provided in such regulations.
Sect. 7. Said selectmen and mayor and aldermen are authorized to
cause all cattle infected with such disease, or which have been exposed
thereto, to be forthwith branded upon the rump with the letter P, so as
to distinguish the animal from other cattle ; and no cattle so branded shall
be sold or disposed of except with the knowledge and consent of such
selectmen and mayor and aldermen. Any person without such knowl-
edge and consent, selling or disposing of an animal known to be affected
with such disease, or known to have been exposed thereto within one
year from such sale or disposal, shall be punished by fine not exceeding
five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year.

Sect. 8. Any person disobeying the orders of the selectmen or mayor
and aldermen, made in conformity with the fourth section, or driving or
transporting any neat cattle contrary to the regulations made, recorded,
and published as aforesaid, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year.

Sect. 9. Whoever knows, or has reason to suspect the existence of
any such disease among the cattle in his possession or vuider his care,
shall forthwith give notice to the selectmen of the town or mayor and
aldermen of the city where such cattle may be kept, and for failure so
to do, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or
by iraprisonn>ent not exceeding one year.

Sect. 10. Any town or city whose officers shall neglect or refuse to
carry into effect the provisions of section one, two, three, four, five, six,
and seven, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars for each
day's neglect.

Sect. 11. All appraisals made under the provisions of this act shall
be in writing, and signed by the appraisers, and the same shall be certi-
fied to the governor and council, and to the treasurer of the several towns
and cities whei-ein the cattle appraised belong, by the selectmen and
mayors and aldermen respectively.

Sect. 12. The selectmen of the towns and mayor and aldermen of
the cities, are hereby authorized, when in their judgment it shall be nec-
essary to carry into effect the purposes of this act, to take and hold pos-
session, for a term not exceeding one year, within their respective towns
and cities, of any land, without buildings other. than barns thereon, upon
which it may be necessary to enclose and isolate any cattle, and they
shall cause the damages sustained by the owners in consequence of such
taking and holding to be appraised by the assessors of the town or city
wherein the lands so taken are situated, and they shall further cause a
3*

22 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

description of such land, setting forth the boundaries thereof, and the
area as nearly as may be estimated, together with said appraisal by the
assessors, to be entered upon the records of the town or city. The
amount of said appraisal shall be paid as provided in the first section, in
such sums and at such times as the selectmen or mayor and aldermen
respectively may order. If the owner of any land so taken shall be dis-
satisfied with the appraisal of said assessors, he may, by action of con-
tract, recover of the town or city wherein the lands lie, a fair compensa-
tion for the damages sustained by him ; but no costs shall be taxed, unless
the damages recovered in such action, exclusive of interest, exceed the
appraisal of the assessors. And the Commonwealth shall reimburse any
town or city four-fifths of any sum recovered of such town or city in
any such action.

AN ACT

IX ADDITION TO AN ACT CONCERNING CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
AMONG CATTLE.

Section 1. In addition to the commissioners appointed under the
provisions of chapter one hundred and ninety-two of the acts of the year
one thousand eight hundred and sixty, the governer, by and with the ad-
vice and consent of the council, is hereby authorized to appoint two
additional persons to constitute, with those now in office, a board of
commissioners upon the subject of pleuro-pneumonia, or any other con-
tagious disease now existing among the cattle of the Commonwealth.

Sect. 2. When said commissioners shall make and publish any reg-
ulations concerning tlie extirpation, cure, or treatment of cattle infected
with, or which liave been exposed to the disease of pleuro-pneumonia, or
other contagious disease, such regulations shall supersede the regulations
made by selectmen of towns and mayors and aldermen of cities, upon
the same subject matter, and the operation of the regulations made by
such selectmen and mayors and aldermen shall be suspended during the
time those made by the commissioners as aforesaid shall be in force-
And said selectmen and mayors and aldermen shall carry out and enforce
all orders and directions of said commissioners, to them directed, as they
shall from time to time issue.

Sect. 3. In addition to the power and autliority conferred on the
selectmen of towns and mayors and aldei-nien of cities, by the act to which
this is in addition, and which are herein conferred upon said commissioners,
the same commissioners shall have power to provide for the establishment
of a hos])ital or quarantine in some suitable place or places, with proper
accommodations of buildings, land, &c., wherein may be detained any
cattle by tliem selected, so that said cattle so infected and exposed may

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 23

be there treated by such scientific practicioners of the heahng art as may
be there appointed to treat the same. And for this purpose said com-
missioners may take any hinds and buildings in the manner provid(Ml in
the twelfth section of the act to which this is an addition.

Sect. 4. The governor, by and with the advice and consent of the
council, is hereby authorized to appoint three competent persons to be a
board of examiners to examine into the disease called pleuro-pneumonia,
and who shall attend at the hospital at quarantine established by the com-
missioners mentioned in the foregoing section, and there treat and exper-
iment upon such number of cattle, both sound and infected, as will enable
them to study the symptoms and laws of the disease and ascertain, so far
as they can, the best mode of treating cattle in view of the prevention
and cure of the disease, and who shall keep a full record of their proceed-
ings, and make a report thereon to the governor and council, when their
investigations shall have been concluded : j)rovided, that the expense of
said board of examiners shall not exceed ten thousand dollars.

Sect. 5. The selectmen of the several towns, and the mayors and
aldermen of the several cities, shall, within twenty-four hours after they
shall have notice that any cattle in their respective towns and cities are
infected with or have been exposed to any such disease, give notice in
writing to said commissioners of the same.

Sect. 6. The commissioners are authorized to make all necessary
regulations for the treatment, cure and extirpation of said disease, and
may direct the selectmen of towns and mayors and aldermen of cities to
enforce and carry into effect all such regulations as may, from time to
time, be made for that end ; and any such officer refusing or neglecting to
enforce and carry out any regulation of the commissioners, shall be pun-
ished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for every such offence.

Sect. 7. The commissioners may, when in their judgment the public
good shall require it, cause to be killed and buried, any cattle which are
infected with, or which have been exposed to said disease, and said com-
missioners shall cause said cattle to be appraised in the same manner
provided in the act to which this is an addition ; and the appraised value
of such cattle shall be paid, one-fifth by the towns in which said cattle
are kept, and the remainder by the Commonwealth.

Sect. 8. Whoever shall drive or transport any cattle from any por-
tion of the Commonwealth east of Connecticut River to any part west of
said river before the first day of April next, without consent of the com-
missioners, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars,
or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year.

Sect. 9. Whoever shall drive or transport any cattle from any por-
tion of the Commonwealth into any other State before the first day of
April next, without the consent of the commissioners, shall be punished

24 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the
county jail not exceeding one year.

Sect. 10. If any person fails to comply with any regulation made, or
with any order given by the commissioners, he shall be punished by fine
not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding
one year.

Sect. 11. Prosecutions under the two preceding sections may be
prosecuted in any county in this Commonwealth.

Sect. 1 2. All appraisals made under this act shall be in writing and
signed l)y the appraisers and certified by the commissioners, and shall be
by them transmitted to the governor and council, and to the treasurers of
the several cities and towns wherein the cattle appraised were kept.

Sect. 13. The provisions of cliapter one hundred and ninety-two of
the acts of one thousand eight hundred and sixty [except so far as tliey
authorize the appointment of commissioners] are hereby repealed, but
this repeal shall not affect the validity of the proceedings hei'etofore law-
fully had under the provisions of said chapter.

Sect. 11. The commissioners and examiners shall keep a full record
of their doings, and make report of the same to the next legislature, on
or before the tenth day of January next, unless sooner required by the
governor ; and the said record, or an abstract of the same, shall be printed
in the annual volume of Transactions of the State Board of Agriculture.

Sect. 15. The governor, with the advice and consent of the council,
shall have power to terminate the commission and board of examiners
whenever, in his judgment, the public safety may permit.

The additional Commissioners required by the Act, Messrs.
Cyrus Knox, of Palmer, and E. G. Morton, of Fairhaven, were
not appointed until the 2d of July. They entered on their
duties the 6th of that month. During the iiiterval between the
adjournment of the legislature and the appointment of addi-
tional Commissioners, those already in office were placed i^i
circumstances of great embarrassment. They did not feel at
liberty to inaugurate the new policy required by the law just
enacted, without the sanction of the full board of Commission-
ers contemplated by that law ; and they could do little more
than keep things as they were, until their new colleagues should
be ready to act with them. Tliis state of things gave rise to
considerable uneasiness in the neighborhood where the disease
had existed, occasioning great inconvenience, and in some
cases, serious losses.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 25

The Commissioners now proceeded to isolate and secure the
suspected herds as effectually as possible. They killed but
very few animals, and these mostly eitlier to ascertain whether
or not, the disease existed in certain herds ; or to exterminate
such as, from their connection with animals well-known to be
diseased, were considered dangerous. The most vigilant watch
was kept upon all herds supposed to be infected. The towns
in the central and westerly parts of WorcesterCounty, generally
adopted and published stringent regulations, in accordance
with the law " respecting contagious diseases among cattle ;"
and these, so far as known, were executed with commendable
promptness and fidelity, until the approach of cold weather,
and the apparent absence of the disease, rendered such precau-
tions unnecessary.

It had been feared, that with the approach of cold weather,
the disease would again manifest itself. Such has been the
case in other countries ; and such, we had reason to apprehend,
would be the case here, unless the disease had been entirely
exterminated ; a consummation, which, however much desired,
could not with certainty be calculated upon. Thus far, there
have been iio new instances of the disease ; and it is now confi-
dently hoped that its extermination has been complete, with
the exception now to be mentioned.

It has been already stated that the pleuro-pneumonia was
brought to North Brookfield from the herd of Winthrop W.
Clienery, Esq., of Belmont ; but no account has yet been given
of the manner in which the disease was introduced into his
herd, the consequences that followed, nor the subsequent action
of the Commissioners.

According to the statement of Mr. Chenery, before the
committee appointed at the extra session, he imported three
cows and one heifer from Holland, which arrived at Boston
May 2od, 1859. Two of the three cows were in bad condition
when landed. The first died at the end of a week. The
second cow died two days afterwards. About the 20tli of
June, the third cow was found to be sick. She was kept with
some twenty or thirty head of cattle, in a room fifty feet
square. She died on the 29th of June. This was the day on
which the three calves were taken from INIr. Chenery's farm to
North Brookfield. Another cow was found to be diseased in

26 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

August. She had been imported from Holland in 18")2. She
died in about a fortniglit. From that time, his cattle died
successively, until about the first of November, when he had
lost in all about thirty head. See Evidence, etc., page 75,
et srq., Extra Session, 1800.

Although your Commissioners began their operations in
North Brookfield and New Braintree, they soon extended their
examinations to the herd at Belmont. They first visited that
place on the IGth of April, five days after their appointment.
Mr. Chenery expressed the belief " that all his animals were
now sound, or recovering ; for he had lost none for a long
time, and all seemed in a thriving state." The Commissioners,
from their experience in Worcester County, had a strong belief
that, however well Mr. Chenery's cattle might appear exter-
nally, an autopsy would present results similar to those
observed in other places, and accordingly three animals were
killed. Post-mortem examinations by Drs. Thayer, Dadd, and
George N. Bates, showed that all these animals were greatly
diseased. They presented the same general appearances with
the worst cases at North Brookfield, only of longer standing.
Though the Commissioners were thus confirmed in their opin-
ion, that the greater part of this herd were fatally diseased, they
took no measures for the disposal of them. The reasons for
this course were three. First, the cattle were in a safe and
isolated situation, and there was no danger of their commu-
nicating the infection. Second, many of ^Ir. Chenery's cattle
were valued by liim at very high prices, which, if allowed, would
absorb a great part of the very limited resources at the dis-
posal of the Commissioners. A third reason was, that the
imminently perilous condition of the herds in North Brookfield
and its vicinity, which were daily extending the infection,
required the constant and undivided attention of the Commis-
sioners and the surgeons.

Under these circumstances, therefore, no steps were taken
for the disposal of Mr. Chenery's cattle, and no more of them
were killed, until the 2d of June, when, during the extra
session, two were slaughtered and examined, both of which
were found diseased. Soon after the enlargement of the Board
of Commissioners, a consultation was had with the Board
of Medical Examiners, appointed under the same Act, in regard

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 27

to the propriety of reserving a part of Mr. Chenery's herd for
experiment, and of using his barn and premises as the hospital
in which to make the investigation contemplated by said Act.
On consultation with Mr. Chenery, and in accordance with his
wishes, it was determined that he should select ten of the
animals most valuable to himself, and most likely to be free
from disease ; and that the balance, twenty-seven in number,
should be appraised and disposed of in such manner as the two
Boards should see fit. Accordingly, on the 4th of August,
three gentlemen, Messrs. George W. Lyman, R. S. Fay, and
J. W. Underwood, were appointed for the purpose, and duly
appraised the twenty-seven head to be taken on behalf of the
Commonwealth.

On the 25th of September the Medical Commissioners,
attended by Messrs. Lathrop and Walker, of the other Board,
met at Belmont. Four animals were killed. The first two
were sound. The others were found so diseased, that, in the
opinion of the Medical Commissioners, there was no safety in
allowing any of this herd to mix with other animals, and
they recommended that the whole should be ultimately de-
stroyed.

Another meeting was held at Belmont on the 12th of Octo-
ber, when seven animals were killed and examined. Of these,
two only were found diseased. The others were sound ; but
some of them were calves, dropped subsequent to the severity
of the disease in Mr. Chenery's herd.

The whole Board again met on the 16th of October, and
made a post-mortem examination of six more of these cattle.
Tiiree of them were sound, the others diseased. Of the seven-
teen animals disposed of in these examinations by the Medical
Board, nine were decidedly diseased with the pleuro-pneu-
monia.

Only ten of the animals taken by the Commissioners then
remained alive, and from these four were taken by the Medical
Board for experiment, as they should judge best, which,
together with the four animals killed on the 25tli of Septem-
ber, were, by mutual agreement, charged to the account of
that Commission.

On the 13th of December, the Commissioners and Medical
Examiners again met at Belmont, and killed three more of Mr.

28 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE.

Chenery's herd, two of which were disealsed. Mr. Chenery
then took baok the three animals remaining, which had been
appraised.

The ^Fedical Examiners, at this time, killed one of the
animals in their possession, and foimd it diseased.

There remained at the close of these operations sixteen
animals out of the original stock of Mr. Chenery, viz. thirteen
belonging to himself, and three under the charge of the Medical
Board. It has been determined by the Commissioners to keep
these animals isolated until such' time as it will be prudent to
set them at large in the Commonwealth, from a desire to avoid
all possibility of exposure, all unnecessary destruction, and all
expense in their power.

In addition to the foregoing it may be proper to state, that
after the examination made on the 25th of September when four
animals were killed under the direction of the Medical Exam-
iners, they sent a communication to this Board, expressing their
opinion that there was no safety to the public except by the ex-
termination of Mr. Chenery's herd, and recommending that
course in the final disposition of them.

In this connection, the Commissioners would say that wher-
■ ever the disease had been exterminated, they have recommended
and insisted upon a thorough disinfecting of the building, in
which the cattle have been kc{)t. This, it is believed, has been
uniformly and very thoroughly done, by cleansing out all filth
and offal from the premises, by washing the floors and ceilings
with alkalies, by white-washing and the use of McDougall's
Patent Disinfecting Powders, an article that has been highly
recommended by the most distinguished chemists of Europe,
and found highly efhcacious and convenient.

The Commissioners do not regard it as within their province
to speak at length of the pathology of the disease, with
which they have been called to contend. The appointment
of a Medical Board of Examiners for the purpose of inquir-
ing into " the symptoms and laws of the disease, and the
best mode of treating cattle in view of its prevention and cure,"
renders such a service quite uiuiecessary, if not improper.
Another reason why they should not enter upon a service so
strictly professional, is found in the fact, that the extended
examinations made by the committee of the extra session, and the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 29

iniraerous autopsies and other facts reported in the "Evidence"
before referred to, published by that committee, render a
farther treatment of tliis subject, by this Board, superfluous.

Certain clear and practical conclusions to which the Com-
missioners have arrived, in view of the facts under their obser-
vation, they feel it incumbent on them explicitly to etate : —

1st. That the disease is strictly contagious, no case having
occurred where it was not directly and indisputably traceable
to contact with some animal known to be diseased.

2d. That the severity or virulence of the disease is in propor-
tion to the closeness of contact ; that where animals are con-
fined in barns, they take the disease from each other, in the
most aggravated form ; the more close or air-tight the barn or
stable, the more rapid the development of the disease.

3d. That cleanliness, ventilation, and the use of disinfectants
are important, as means of preventing the spread of the dis-
ease amongst a herd in which it exists, and of modifying its
character.

4th. That the disease, as it always, in the end, produces
ulceration of the lungs, is hopelessly incurable.

The annexed diagram, carefully prepared from the records
of the commission, will establish, it is believed beyond cavil,
the first of the foregoing propositions. It is intended to show
the connection of every case with the original infection ; and
to exhibit not only every well-defined instance of disease, but
also those cases where animals were so far implicated by expo-
sure, as to make them, in the opinion of the surgeons, danger-
ous, and were therefore condemned and destroyed.

The endeavor has been, to make this chart, or diagram, as
complete as possible, and it is believed that there is no essential
omission or mistake.

It will be seen, on examination, that certain names are
inserted two or more times, upon the chart. This is explained
by the fact, that the herds of such persons were exposed to
infection in several ways. [See next page.]

At the time of the breaking out in this country of the dis-
ease, called pleuro-pncumonia, but little was known respecting
it, even by veterinary surgeons. Not one of these, it is believed,
had ever seen a case of it. Its laws were not understood, and
consequently the Commissioners were compelled to act very
4*

30

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

CHENERY^
fl.EUROHP^myMOJMlAr

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 31

much ill tliG dark. That tlic disease was tenihly fatal, seemed
to be sufficiently demonstrated by tlie death of nearly one-half
of Mv. Clienery's stock, in a few months, on its first appear-
ance. That it was contagious, was clearly ]n-oved by its having
been carried to North Brookfield, from Belmont, in the manner
described, and spreading there from herd to herd, in all cases
by contact, and raging with e(]ual virulence as at Belmont.
But how the infection was communicated, how long the disease
was in incubation, at what stage of the disease infection could
be communicated, or when the time arrived that it ceased to
be communicable, all these important facts were then unknown.
The perplexity caused by their want of knowledge in regard to
the disease, is easily perceived. On its appearance in any herd,
there was no course of safety, but to destroy the whole, as
required by law ; for no one could say that there was any secu-
rity in leaving a single animal alive, that had been exposed,
however lightly. It was quite apparent that it was better a
whole herd should perish, than one be left to spread disease
over the Commonwealth.

The difficulty of determining clearly, by prognosis, when the
disease actually existed, greatly embarrassed the surgeons and
Commissioners. Yet they were compelled to act, and act
promptly, and in such manner as the public safety required.

Tiie total expense incurred by the commission, large as it
may seem to some, is small, when compared with the immensity
of the object to be gained. The whole cost will not amount to
one-half of one-per cent, on the total value of the neat stock of
Massachusetts. What country in Europe, where the disease
permanently exists, would not pay a vastly greater premium
ever// year, to be defended from this terrible scourge ?

The whole amount for which warrants have been
drawn upon the treasury on account of this
commission, is ..... . $28,755 32

The outstanding bills for various expenses, arc about 5,000 00

,755 32

In addition to the above estimate, Mr. Chcnery has a just
claim for the board of his animals from ]\[ay thirteenth to June
twelfth, amounting to a little more than three hundred dollars ;
but the provisions of the law of April fourth do not authorize

32 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE,

the Commissioners to approve it. They doubt not, however,
that the legislature, whenever the subject shall be brought before
them, will provide for its payment. It may be proper to add,
that Mr. Chenery has presented a claim for damages he thinks
he has suffered from proceedings held under the law. The
Commissioners not having authority to adjust such a claim, the
matter will probably be brought before your honorable body
by petition.

From the foregoing statements it will appear, that the expen-
ditures of this Board have been much less than it was at one
time feared they would be.

Animals pronounced sound and killed, under Act of April 4 : —

Cows, 197

Heifers, 103

Oxen, 89

Steers, 78

Yearlings and calves, .... 161

Aninmls not described, . . . . 48

079

Animals pronounced diseased and killed, under

Act of April 4, 160

Animals killed, paid for under Act of June 12 : —

Cows, 10

Heifers, ....... 7

Oxen, 2

Steers, ....... 2

Yearlings and calves, .... 5

Animals not described, .... 5

— 31
Total of animals to be paid for . . . 710

Total of animals killed by the Commission, . . 870

In addition to which, five have been killed by the medical
examiners.

While the Commissioners are well satisfied that the law of
April 4, 1860, under which by far the greater part of the
operations of this Board were conducted, was just and liberal
in its provisions, they could not but observe with regret, that
some cases of great hardship necessarily resulted from the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 33

execution of it. Such cases if hereafter brought to tlie atten-
tion of the legislature will, it is not doubted, receive the con-
sideratioa to which they may be entitled.

The Commissioners cannot dismiss the subject now before
them without referring to the reports that have been frequently
circulated of the existence of pleuro-pneumonia in other places
than those already specified. These reports they regard as
entirely erroneous. They do not believe that a single case has
occurred in New England not connected with the herd of Mr.
Chenery. Their reasons for this opinion are first, that from
an examination of many of the reported cases, and from the
description of others, they arc fully satisfied they are of an
entirely different character. Those at Farmington, Connecticut,
for example, were generally supposed to be cases of the genuine
disease ; but Dr. Warren Tyler of North Brookfield, who has
probably seen as many cases of the real pleuro-pneumonia as
any man in this country, and who visited Farmington in
company with Mr. Commissioner Lathrop, at the request of
the commissioners of the State of Connecticut, became fully
convinced by careful post mortem examination, that they were
not the exudative pleuro-pneumonia. Another reason for
disbelief in the genuineness of these, is, that in no instance, so
far as known have they proved contagious. They have been
sporadic cases, in different parts of this and the adjoining-
States. So far as known to the Commissioners they resemble
each other in their developments ; but none of them answer to
the disease imported by Mr. Chenery.

The case of an ox belonging to Mr. Hubbard Peckham of
Petersham, was one of the most extraordinary. The animal
was not known to have been exposed to contagion. First
symptoms of disease appeared April first. Was seized during
a stormy day grating his teeth, afterwards frothing at the
mouth, and at times coughing badly. The first attack lasted
three days, continued to work, although he did not fill himself,
until the twentieth of May ; after that time he declined, though
somtimcs better. On the twentieth of July at the close of a
hot day was much worse, and continued sick until the twenty-
third, when he was killed by his owner.

His lungs were found to be a mass of disease, no part being
sound. The whole weighed sixty-four pounds, being filled with

34 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

tuberculous formations from the size of a pea to that of a hen's
egg. These tubercles were filled with corrupted matter, which
seemed to have been generally deposited throughout the lungs.
The animal was examined by Dr. Taylor of Petersham, who
kindly sent statements concerning them to the Commissioners.
Dr. Tyler of North Brookfield, examined the samples of lung
sent, and decided that it was a case of pneumonia of the same
type as that exhibited at Farmington, Conn.

It is thought unnecessary to dwell longer on this part of the
subject, as it is one which comes especially within the jirovince
of the medical examiners, and will doubtless receive due con-
sideration at their hands.

It may be proper to mention in this connection, that the
existence of pleuro-pneumonia in this Commonwealth, arrested
the attention of the people and governments of several States.
The governor of Ohio on the twentieth of May, appointed a
delegation consisting of Messrs. John H. Klippart, Sullivan D.
Harris, and Robert Thompson, to visit Massachusetts and
" ascertain the history of the introduction of the disease, its
diagnosis, <fec." Mr. Klippart and Doctor Thompson visited the
infected district, and so far as })ossible, in that late stage of the
0[)erations of the commission, made the required investigations.
On their return they submitted an elaborate report to the
governor, which has been published.

Kentucky was represented by the attendance of Doct. S. M.
Bemis, Registrar of Louisville.

The Governor of Illinois issued his proclamation on the 22d
of June, appointing Doct. Andrew McFarland, of that State, a
commissioner to make investigations in regard to the disease ;
and recommending " that all farmers, drovers, merchants, and
citizens generally, of the State of Illinois, shall not purchase or
import into this State, any cattle already sul)ject to or infected
with this disease, or which have been in any way exposed to
such contagion, or from any State or region of country where-
such disease exists or is supposed to exist, or into which the
same is liable to be spread by reason of its contiguity to the
infected districts ;" and he further "recommended and requested
all owners, officers and agents of steam-boats, canals, and rail-
roads, and all common carriers of stock, to refuse to transport
any cattle into this State, which may be so diseased, or infected,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 35

or suspected of the same, or which may come from such infected
or suspected districts,"

Doct. McFarland visited Massachusetts, and after diligent
research, made a very interesting report of the results of his
mission, a published copy of which has been received by this
Board.

The Governor of ]\raine, on the 28th of May, appointed
Messrs. S. L. Goodale, Secretary of the State Board of Agricul-
ture, Poet. Amos Nourse, and Doct. E. Holmes, commissioners
to visit this State. These gentlemen wei'e present at the extra
session of the legislature ; and after making personal observa-
tions of the mode of procedure adopted by your Commissioners,
made an able report of their doings to the governor of Maine,
a printed copy of which is in the hands of this commission.

The attention of the legislature of Connecticut was called to
this subject, during the month of May. The prevalence of the
disease on the very confines of that State, rendered some efficient
action necessary ; and a board of commissioners, consisting of
Messrs. Charles Matthewson, Lonzo M. , Smith, and John L.
Stewart, were appointed under authority of the legislature.
These gentlemen visited this Commonwealth, some of them
several times, and took a deep interest in all matters connected
with the extirpation of the disease. Governor Buckingham, of
that State, was present at post mortem examinations, made
under the direction of your Commissioners, on the 2Gth of
June last.

A visit was also made by the Secretary of the New York
State Agricultural Society, B. P. Johnson, Esq., and by other
gentlemen of that State, interested in agriculture.

Delegations also from Pennsylvania and Indiana visited Mas-
sachusetts for information in regard to the disease in question.

The executive committee of the New Jersey State Agricul-
tural Society met on the 5th of June last, and after a discussion
of the subject, [pleuro-pneumonia,] appointed a committee,
two of whom, N. N. Halstead, president of the society, and
Mr. Benjamin Haines, visited Boston in company with Doctors
J. M. Ward and G. Grant, of Newark. The latter gentlemen
acted as medical commissioners, and on their return submitted
a re[)ort, from which, as it contains many very important facts
in relation to the disease as those gentlemen believe it exists or

36 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

has existed in New Jersey and New York, it is thought advisa-
ble to make the following extract.

The disease was introduced into Brooklyn by a cow imported from
Germany in 18i3, and taken directly from ship-board into one of the
large milk dairies of that city. In the county of Kings the disease has
lurked until the present time, making its incursions into other parts of
the country as opportunities to convey it have offered, by the transfer of
some animal from an infected herd.

In 1853 the disease was carried by a cow to Mr. Prentice's farm at
Mt. Hope, near Albany ; a cow originally from the dairy of Mr. P.,
after wintering in Brooklyn, was being returned to him, bearing the
disease with her. Thus introduced into his herd, it extended from one
animal to another, not ceasing to do its work until such a perfect separa-
tion of the animals was affected, that not more than two, in most cases
but one animal Avas kept in a place. Early impressed with the convic-
tion tliat the disease was of a contagious character, and that Ids
tlUurij security was in prevention and not in remedy, Mr. Prentice
resorted to a quarantining of the sick and a rigid isolation of the remain-
der, as above detailed, and thus controlled the disease.

On the testimony of jNIr. Jolnison, the disease was carried to his farm,
near Newark, by animals which he purchased in the New York market.
Sickening soon after their arrival, the disease was first communicated to
animals in the contiguous stalls, and from them to others, till all the cattle
on the form have been the subject of it. Isolation has not been resorted
to here, and the whole history cannot now be written, for nuich seed we
fear has been sown that when ripened into harvest may give us a sad
appendix. The history of the other outbreaks of the disease in New
Jersey, viz., in the herd of IMayor Edgar, at Kahway, and others in
Morris County, if written, would be in corroboration of what we have
here given.

Second. Its identity is proclaimed by a similarity of symptoms,
mai-king tlie period of inculjation, development, progress and termina-
tion of the disease in all the localities in which it has been observed.
The description given by Mr. Prentice of the disease in his herd was as
like to that of Mr. Johnson as language can portray disease. AVhen the
disease, as it appeared in tlie Johnson herd, witnessed by your commis-
sion, was described to the veterinary surgeons at Boston, they declared
it at once identically the same. Not one symptom noted in the sick liere
but has been observed in INIr. Johnson's animals.

The post mortem examinations declare quite unequivocally their iden-
tity. The same engorged condition of the lungs, producing an increase
in the size of the or";an that would seem almost incredible to one who

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 37

luis not witnessed it, as well as of weight, from five to twenty and thirty
I)ounds and upwards ; the same hepatizations, adhesions, serous effu.'^ions
and prevalent deposits in ahcesses and cysts, have been observed where-
ever examinations have been made.

And thirdly, in the fatality of the disease. Mr. Chenery's herd con-
sisted of sixty animals, of which thirty have died ; Mr. Prentice's, thirty-
one, of which sixteen died; MV. Johnson's, about twenty, of which a little
more than half died.

It may not be unimportant to observe, inasmuch as it has been claimed
that the Dutch animal is particularly obnoxious to the disease, from the
hereditary predisposition acquired from the disease having prevailed
in Holland over 200 years and thus tainted the stock, that the percent-
age of loss in the Dutch herd of Mr. Chcnery was a fraction less than
in Mr. Prentice's Ayrshires ; while that in the native stock of Mr. John-
son has exceeded that of both. Quite as great has been the percentage
of loss in other native herds in Brooklyn and New Jersey, teaching us
that no breeds of horned cattle are exempt from the disease.

And lastly, and that to which your commission would att^|fh the greatest
importance in their report, in view of its practical bearing upon public
interests, is their profound conviction that it is most virulently contagious.
If there is any i-eliance to be placed on human testimony, every case of
the disease that has occurred in Massachusetts can be traced froni animal
to animal, step by step, through the Stoddard and Chenery herds to cows
imported from Holland. This fact was indisputably established in the
investigation made by the committee of the Massachusetts legislature
(see printed documents, extra session.) The disease in Kings County it
is admitted, was introduced by the imported cow from Germany that
sickened soon after her arrival and destroyed the dairy into which she
was introduced. "With equal certainty has the disease been traced in
"Westchester County, into the herd of Mr. Prentice at Albany and to
diiferent places in New Jersey, where at different times there have been
outbreaks of the disease. That it is contagious and not epidemic in
character, it is pertinent to observe, that the fact appeared in evidence
before the Massachusetts commission that the disease never extended
from Mr. Chenery's herd to an animal in the town in which he lives,
but to other towns where he had sent his animals the disease was
carried ; and that wherever he had sent an animal to come in contact
with other animals, there the disease was carried. You may isolate
contagion, but no man can so effectually bar his door to shut in an epi-
demic disease that it will not find its way to his neighbor's dwelling.
Your commission cannot be expected to enumerate all the facts that
have come to their knowledge and led them to beheve the disease emi-
nently contagious ; but cannot refrain from stating one, that carried

0*

38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

conviction to tlie minds of the common people where it occurred, of the
contagious character of the disease, without asking men of science their
opinion. A pair of cattle in North Brookfield, in working condition,
from an infected herd, were put into a team of twenty-tliree yoke and
were thus employed a day and a half in moving a building, the cattle
composing this large team, belonging to thirteen owners ; when the work
was done and the team discharged, the disease was carried into thirteen
different herds — every animal exposed to the diseased yoke taking the
infection and carrying the disease to their respective herds. No satisfac-
tory explanation of the virulence of the contagion in this disease of the
horned cattle far exceeding any thing known in the human subject can
be offered, unless it be in the fact that the seat of the disease being in
the structure of the lungs, every expiration of the animal surcharged
with the contagious miasma must so load the atmosphere witli the infec-
tion as to impress every animal tliat inhales it. Yv^e admit this has
no parallel in the human subject, neither has the disease in its patho-
logical character. In pneumonias in the human subject the vesicular
structure of ^|e lungs is unquestionably the proper seat of the disease,
but in hoi'ned cattle the interlobular cellular tissue is the part primarily
and mainly affected, and the cellular tissue is secondly so, and then only
is it observed when the disease in the interlobular tissue is far advanced.

In this opinion of the contagious character of the disease, your com-
mission is assured they are sustained by practical men, men of science
and editors of agricultural journals in Europe, where the more extended
prevalence of the disease has invited to more thorough investigation than
has been enjoyed here.

Should any opinion be asked as to the economy of a course to be pur-
sued on the appearance of the disease, we would advise an immediate
separation of the sick animals from the remainder of the herd, rigidly
confining them to sheds or pens, removed at a considerable distance from
the other animals on the farm, and an isolation of all that may have
been exposed to the infection, till the danger has passed. Our only
safety at present seems to be in isolating the different members of an
infected herd. The vastness of the interests at stake may make it the
part of wisdom to secure most certainly, in all cases, the rigid observ-
ance of this practice by legislative enactments in this State similar to
what has been had in some other States.

The Commissioners are liappy to be able to acknowledge the
services rendered them by the Massachusetts State Board of
Agriculture. Its secretary, Charles L. Flint, Esq., w^as found
ready at all times to afford any assistance and encouragement

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 39

in his power, and attended personally at many of the post
mortem examinations.

At a meeting of the State Board, held on the 15th of May,
18G0, it was " Voted : that a committee of three from this
board be apj)ointed to advise with the Commissioners for the
extirpation of pleuro-pneumonia, and devise with them the
most active and efficient mode of carrying ont the objects of the
commission ; and that they make a full report of their doings
to this Board." Prof. Clark, of Amherst, Hon. John Brooks,
of Princeton, and Rev. C. C. Sewall, of Medfield, were ap-
pointed as this committee.

The committee, thus constituted by the State Board, entered
upon the duties assigned tlfem with great promptness ; and
contributed very much to relieve the labors of this commission.
Their advice and co-operation, during a most pressing period,
were of the highest value to the public ; and the Commissioners
feel under great obligations to the gentlemen personally, as well
as to the Board, which generously empowered them to act.
The records of the commission abundantly testify to the extent
and efficiency of the services rendered by these delegates of the
State Board.

The Commissioners also acknowledge, with great pleasure,
the attentions received by them from His Excellency, Governor
Banks, His Honor, Lieut, (tov. Trask, and other gentlemen con-
nected with the State government ; and they would do injustice
to their own feelings, if they did not bear testimony to the
uniform courtesy and kindness shown by the various farmers
and owners of stock, with whom they have been brought in
contact. With scarce an exception, these have manifested a
great desire to facilitate the action of this Board, and to afford
all needed assistance.

To Mr. Chenery, who has been so peculiarly unfortunate in
his connection with this disease, the public are greatly indebted
for the careful manner in which he has isolated his herd from
the first moment he believed them infected with a contagious
disease. His whole course deserves high commendation.

At this point the Commissioners take leave to introduce an
extract from " The Veterinarian," published in Loudon, that
it may be seen in what manner the malady in (luestion is spoken
of, and in what light the proceedings of the government of

40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Massachusetts in relation to it, are regarded abroad, bj those
best qualified to judge.

" We took occasion a short time since to notice that the fatal disease of
cattle known as pleuro-pneumonia had made its appearance in Austra-
lia and America. The facts connected Avith its introduction into both
these countries so completely proved the contagious nature of the
malady, that we did not hesitate to declare our conviction that unless the
most prompt means Avere forthwith adopted to arrest its progress, it
would gradually extend itself, and cause a fearful destruction among
bovine animals.

The intelligence which we have recently received not only confirms
these opinions, but puts us in possession of the measures the respective
governments have had recourse to, and which we must designate as hold
and decisive. If the home government had taken up the subject in the
same spirit, on the first appearance of the malady here, doubtless we should
not have now to lament the ruinous consequences it has brought on so
many individuals, nor the immense losses the whole country has sus-
tained."

In view of the well established contagiousness of pleuro-
pneumonia, the Commissioners strongly recommend that
measures be taken to call the attention of Congress to the
propriety of enacting such quarantine regulations in relation
to the admission of foreign cattle, as shall effectually guard
the country against the danger of another importation of this
contagious and fatal disease. That there is no safety in bring-
ing neat stock from any part of Europe, is very obvious ; and
since it is not unlikely that the importation of such stock will
continue, the regulations proposed seem in the highest degree
important. The Commissioners trust the legislature will take
such action in the premises as the exigency demands.

They feel that they cannot close this report in a more appro-
priate manner than by quoting the opinions of Professor ^inionds,
the distinguished president of the London Veterinary College,
respecting the pleuro-pneumonia, lately given at an agricultural
meeting in Ipswich, England, as reported in the Mark Lane
Express.

Professor Simonds may be properly regarded as the highest
European authority on tliis subject. He has devoted much atten-
tion to it, and studied it carefully, both on the continent and

SECRETARY'S REPORT. ^ 41

ill the United Kingdom. He lias a knowledge of all that has
been done in the past and all that is doing at present ; and
his opinions seem to be in perfect accordance with the legislation
of the Commonwealth. President Simonds said : —

" He considered the term pleuro-imeumonia a misnomer. The name
of a disease should always oorres{)ond with its nature. Pleuro-
))neumouia signifies inflammation of the pleura and the substance of the
lungs ; the disease itself was really not of an inflammatory character.
On the (juestion of its contagiousness, we had but too strong evidence
that it was contagious, and, unhappily for the country, this fact had
too much been lost sight of. In fact this disease was an epizootic.
In August, 1842, just previous to the alteration of the tariff, the disease
came to us. It was then new to us, but it was not a new disease
in foreign fbuntries. It had raged throughout the continents of Europe,
Asia, and Africa ; but until the last few years it had not appeared
in America or Australia. Recently, it had appeared on those continents
also ; and its arrival there could be traced to contagioui Many
diseases were disseminated both ways. The morbific matter entered
the system, and when seated there poisonous exhalations were given
off. This was the case in smallpox : after the disease had reached
a certain stage, pustules were formed, and each pustule contained the
same morbific matter as was originally inhaled. It was not the case
that all animals exposed were infected, any more than it was with man.
There must be a susceptibility as well as a cause. Some constitutions
would resist more than others, just as men were differently affected by
strong drink. This opened the way to speak of secondary causes, and
how farmers might help nature to resist the disease. Animals were
rendered susceptible by over-crowding. Hence, in the London dairies
the disease was more rife than any where else. Damp and wet yards
were also to be avoided, and keeping cattle in places where much muck
was fermenting, especially if animal matter was present. There were
some pastures which in dry weather were unexceptionable ; the same
pastures in autumn, when exposed to fogs and damp, would engender it.
To use plain language, we must have our wits about us.

The malady itself: it was not an inflammatory, but a local and specific
one. The moi'bific matter enters into the blood by respiration, and then
concentrates itself in the lungs. This affection was in many respects
very peculiar. It is an eminently ^a^aZ disease. We were often twitted
with our inability to stop its ravages, while cases were reported in Avhich
some ignorant cow-leech had treated it successfully. In explanation,
we might say that it is not every farmer who is able to recognize the
presence of the disease in its early stages — indeed, A-'v were not easily

42 • BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

distinguished by the regular practitioner. In those cases wliere these
marvellous cures had been effected, the truth was, the disease had not
been present at all ; but the farmer was not sufficiently acquainted with
its early symptoms to be able to detect the deception of the man who
said that the affection he liad cured was this disease. Bring any of the
boasted remedies to a genuine case — one fully established to be such by
the testimony of competent persons — and they invariably failed. The lungs
were aerifying organs, and both in cattle and in man, nature is unable to
I'emove the deposits caused by the disease, and to substitute sound tissue
in the place of that destroyed. It ahvwjs was a fatal disease and ahvays
would he ; the more we know of it, the more positive we were of this.
In no one case has an animal ever been cured ; the disease is sometimes
arrested, but never cured. It often happens that cattle are sold appearing
well ; when slaughtered, the lung is found diseased. Sometimes, in the
centre of an apparently healthy lung, a diseased portion is &und which
is dead and insulated by nature from the living part, being surrounded
by a layer of lymph. In no case was the mischief done by the disease
upon the lung ever repaired !

When does its contagion cease ? is a question upon which there has
been much discussion, and which is still undecided. As soon as the
animal sickens, the disease is contagious. If it was arrested, it was not
easy to say how soon tlie animal might safely mix Avith others. Tlie
legislature might, with much benefit to the country, take .this matter up.
On tlie ct)iitinent, the measures taken by governments had done much
to stay the ravages of the disease. In some countries, if a herd were
affected, it was compulsory to separate it immediately ; the proprietor
was compensated by the government, whose otffcei's took possession of
the herd ; those badly diseased were slaughtered, and those that were
not aifected or had recovered were branded on the horn so as always to
be known. By the adoption of such measures as these, much had been
done to lessen the severity of this scourge.

The principles of treatment : these could only be properly put into
operation by a veterinary surgeon. As a fai-mer himself, and addressing
farmers, he would recommend, when the disease was decided, to spend
notlmig in jjhi/sic. Get rid of the beasts as soon us jwssible ; the first loss
was the best. There were some preventive measures which might be
put into operation with advantage. When it entered a herd much might
be done to prevent its sf)read, by remembering the contagiousness of the
disease, and that a certain state of the system was necessary before it
was taken. Sometimes it was dormant in the system a long time before
it broke out. When this was the case the morbific matter might be got
rid of In this respect this disease ditFered from all others. The first
thing to be done w^to remove the healthy animals ; this was decidedly

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 43

better than removing the affected, as tliere might be something in the
place where the disease first appeared to induce it. In altering the
circumstances we might remove some secondary causes. Next, as to
bringing the system into a healthy condition, and, if possible, to rid it of
the morbific matter : first, a mild purgative should be employed, to
induce action of the bowels ; second, some agent to act on the urinary
organs. The nitrate of potash (1-4 to 1-2 an ounce daily for two or
three days) was as good as any thing for this purpose. Thus the
system would be gently cleansed. Third, for the encouragement of the
production of pure and healthy blood, some kind of stimulant might be
used, as sulphate of iron, or the oil of turpentine. Fourth, feed the
animals generously. The early adoption of these means would often
rid a herd of the disease.

To sum up, the disease is contagious ; it is an epidemic, or epizootic ;
it is never cured ; it had many secondary causes. Amongst these he
would mention the travelling of animals. He would recommend when
fresh beasts were brought, that they should be kept entirely away
from other stock for three weeks, by which time the disease would
manifest itself. If it broke out let it be remembered that it was Si fatal
disease."

Respectfully submitted.

Paoli Lathrop,

Amasa Walker,

Cyrus Knox,

George B. Loring,

Elbridge G. Morton,

Commissioners .

Office of the State Board of Agriculture, >
Boston, January 8, 1860. I

The Board of Medical Examiners appointed in accordance
with the law to examine into the disease, presented the following

REPORT.

To the Senate mid House of Representatives of the Common-

icealtk of Massachusetts :

In the summer and autumn of 1859, there appeared among
the cattle at Belmont, North Brookfield and vicinity, a disease
so fatal that from thirty to forty per cent, of those attacked
died. It continued unchecked through the winter and spring.

44 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

until, fears liaving been excited that it was of a contagious
nature, legislative aid was asked for. A law was promptly passed
and approved by his excellency tlie governor, on April 4th,
18G0. This law gave ho power but " extirpation," The Com-
missioners, without any direct authority, very properly called
to their aid several physicians and veterinary surgeons, under
whose direction many cattle attacked by or exposed to the
disease were slaughtered. Finding, however, that the appro-
priated funds were insufficient, and that the law did not meet
all the requirements of the case, the governor was petitioned
to call an extra session of tlie legislature. This being done, the
first meeting was held on the 30th of May, 1860.

On this day the Massachusetts Medical Society was holding
its annual session in Boston. Its members chose a committee
to confer with that of the legislature, and request that a board
of scientific men might be appointed to inquire into the disease.
A law was passed and approved on June 12th, authorizing the
governor to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the
council, " three competent persons to be a board of examiners,
to examine into the disease called pleuro-pneumonia." The
appointments were soon made, but, some delay arising from the
refusal of one gentleman to serve, the board was not filled till
about the first of September. Entering at that time upon our
duties, we ascertained that the Commissioners had slaughtered
842 head of cattle, and had estimated that there remained, ex-
clusive of Mr. Chenery's herd, diseased, exposed, and suspected,
1,055 animals. The senior member of the board of examiners
had requested that no animal should be slaughtered until the
board was full, and not then, unless at least one of its members
was present. The request was comj)lied with, except in one
instance, when the gentleman who engaged to be present was
unavoidably detained.

The most logical course to pursue in an inquiry like this, is to
ascertain in the first place whether there exists or has existed,
on the other side of the water, sucli a disease as contagious
pleuro-pneumonia, and, if this prove to be true, to show, by an
analysis of facts, whether w^e have had the same here.

We do not think it necessary to reprint all that has been
written on this subject abroad, but to give, in as concise a
manner as possible, a sketch which may serve as a point of com-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 45

parison and enable others to judge whether our conclusions be
just.

In 1844, Delafond published a work upon " contagious peri-
pneumonia." In this he traces the history of the disease from
quite a remote period down to his own time, and arrives at the
following conclusions : —

1. That from 1693 until 1765, or during a period of seventy-
two years, epizootic diseases of the cliest prevailed among the
cattle of Germany and Switzerland ; but that the descriptions
of these diseases kept by Valentin, Kauscli, aifd Bucard Mau-
chard appear to belong to those of a putrid character, comi)li-
cated with dysentery and peripneumonia.

2. That from 1765 to 1792, or during a period of twenty-
seven years, peripneumonia appeared to prevail only among the
cattle of mountainous countries, such as the Vosges, Switzer-
land, the Jura, the Dauphin^, the Alps, upper Silesia, Piedmont,
etc., without invading the level or highly cultivated countries,
except Champagne, Bourbonnais and the stables of Paris and
its Faubourgs, but in the latter places it reigned but temporarily.

3. That at this time, (1765) Bourgelat first gave a good de-
scription of peripneumonia as it appeared among the cattle of
Cliampagne.

4. That from 1792 to 1820, a period during which Europe
was the theatre of bloody wars, which desolated and impover-
ished it, epizootic pleuro-pneumonia prevailed temporarily.

5. That from 1820 to 1827 there was a recrudescence of peri-
pneumonia among the animals of the mountainous parts of
Europe, and that then it seems to have invaded the higlily cul-
tivated regions and rich valleys of Italy, Germany, Prussia and
France.

6. That it appears to have been introduced into Holland in
1833, into Belgium in 1837, and into England in 1842, by ani-
mals which had contracted the disease.

7. That it prevails in many parts of the north-east and centre
of France, particularly in those near the capital, which are
highly cultivated, and in which constant changes are taking
place among cattle.

8. That, on the contrary, the disease has never existed in
localities where no foreign cattle have been introduced.

6*

46 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

9. That pleuro-pneumonia is, after contagious typhus, the
most destructive disease which can attack cattle.

10. That it may arise spontaneously from the influence of
local causes and spread by contagion.

We have stated that the disease was first noticed in llolland
in 1833. It made its appearance there after an inquest by an
agricultural committee upon some infected animals from Prussia.
Its ravages afterwards were such that the government felt obliged
to prohibit the exportation of cattle. Toward the close of 1835,
and at the conyncncemcnt of 1836, it reached the southern
part of Holland, where it spread rapidly, and in the following
year_ carried off seven thousand head of cattle. According to
the official reports, Holland lias lost from 1837 to 1839, 28,489
animals by pleuro-pneumonia. To-day the fine cattle of this
rich kingdom are decimated by this formidable disease.

It is evident, therefore, that a disease most destructive to
cattle has extended from one part of Europe to another. Tiiat
the disease is contagious seems also probable, but as this is a
most important point, we give the result of Delafond's researches
upon it.

1. The malady, while in a herd of cattle, presents all the
general characters of contagious affections.

2. Fifty-two distinct observations show that 387 healthy
animals, exposed in stables to those diseased, contracted pleuro-
pneumonia, and that among this number were thirteen animals
from districts where the disease did not exist.

3. Nine observations prove that 54 healthy animals contracted
peripneumonia after being introduced into pastures with dis-
eased or suspected cattle, and that among these 54 were five
brought in a healthy condition from distant places.

4. Ten observations seem to pro»'e that 64 animals had peri-
])neumonia, after exposure to the emanations from the remains
of bodies of dead cattle, and that of this number, two contracted
it by the inoculation of morbid materials from the diseased lungs.

5. The number of well autlienticated examples of contagion
amounts to 505.

6. Two observations render it very probable that animals
convalescing from pleuro-pneumonia are still able to transmit
the disease.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 47

7. It is not certain that tliose who take care of affected
animals can communicate the disease to those which are healthy.

8. The purchase of affected animals, at fairs, markets or
elsewhere, in localities where the disease prevails, is a great
cause of its dissemination.

9. Twenty-six veterinary surgeons of high standing in France,
Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland, have pub-
lished their opinion, in favor of the contagiousness of the dis-
ease ; and in the veterinary congress held at Hanover in 1841,
all the members, twenty-three in number, declared their belief
in the same.

10. The time of incubation is from twenty-four to twenty-
five days, but, as it is difficult to settle precisely the moment
of contagion, we must admit that the time is from thirty to
forty days, more often within, very rarely beyond this.

11. The nature of the virus, like that of all contagious dis-
eases, is still unknown. Its seat appears to be the affected
lung. The expired air, the nasal mucus, the saliva, the
emanations from the affected organs are the ordinary vehicles.
Finally, the contagious atmosphere around the animals is
limited, and cannot be carried far by currents of air.

Admitting then that such a disease as contagious pleuro-
pneumonia exists, let us endeavor to ascertain whether there
are any symptoms by which it may be recognized.

Dr. J. M. Kreutzer, in a valuable work upon this subject,
published at Erlangen in 1854, gives the following : —

The most unmistakable signs of pulmonary disease are
derived from auscultation and percussion, but it is impossible
by these means to discover the nature of the lesion ; we cannot
distinguish it from simple inflammation of the lungs.

Among the external sigus, we have almost always a peculiar
short cough, particularly in the morning, or when the animal
rises or is allowed to drink. The appetite is variable or slight,
the secretion of milk diminished. At a later period there is
unusual dilatation and contraction of the ala3 nasi, and a more
or less rapid, short and unequal respiration. The peculiar
cough becomes more dry and painful, and, in the very worst
cases may be entirely absent. In young, powerful animals, the
mucous membrane of the nose is, at the commencement, red
and dry, but, at a later period the color changes to a yellowish-

48 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

white. Still later, there flows from the nose either a clear and
thin, or a viscid and variously colored fluid. This may come
from the nose itself or the hronchi. In the latter it is often
found in masses as thick as the fniger, and great relief is afforded
by the expulsion of one of these. Pain is caused by pressure
upon the chest, behind the shoulders, or upon the lumbar region,
and animals show this by shrinking.

The local signs often exist in a slight degree for weeks or
months without any constitutional symptoms. In the febrile
stage at the commencement of the disease, in strong animals,
the pulse is full and hard, but in those which are weak and
badly nourished, it is soft and full. Finally, it becomes in all
soft and rapid. At the commencement of the febrile period, the
animals stand with the back curved upward, and the head and
neck outstretched. In the pasture they separate themselves
from the herd. As the disease progresses, they almost always
stand with the anterior part of the body immovable. They
rarely lie down, and then only for a short time, either upon the
affected side or on the breast bone, with the fore feet beneath
them or stretched out in front. Towards the close, when suffo-
cation is imminent, they lie with the head and neck outstretched
and the mouth open. The hair upon the chest and neck loses
its lustre and stands up. The skin is dry, and is more firmly
attached to the withers and walls of the chest than to other
parts. Appetite and rumination cease entirely in the febrile
stage. Water excites cough, and is taken with difficulty. From
the dry mouth, there flows more or less viscid, dirty, offensive
fluid, or a frothy saliva. The milk is either secreted in small
quantity and is deficient in fat ; or ceases altogether. The
urine is dark brown, has a strong odor, and is passed with diffi-
culty. The fecal matter at the commencement of the disease
is less abundant, firm and dark brown. At a more advanced
period, there is either constipation, or the faeces becomes hard and
black, or green, watery and offensive. Abortion frequently
takes place, either immediately before the appearance of the
disease, or at the commencement and in the course of the same.

The duration of the disease depends upon the length of the
chronic or non-febrile stage. If the latter be long, the disease
may last several weeks or months. If, on the contrary, fever
makes its appearance early or at the commencement of the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 49

disease, the latter may terminate in from seven to fourteen days,
rarely under, more frequently over that time. Death is, unfor-
tunately, the most common termination. A complete recovery
may however take place, and the animal afterwards die of the
effusion into the pleura and pericardium, or chronic pulmonary
oedema. Sometimes, but rarely, complete recovery takes place ;
but this is only possible when the disease is checked at the
commencement, or at an early period.

MORBID ANATOMY.

The same author states that the morbid appearances vary ac-
cording to the period at which the animal dies or is killed.

At the commencement, no exudation is found, but isolated
portions of the interlobular cellular tissue are in a hyperoemic
condition, somewhat swollen and opaque. If the process has
advanced a little farther, we find in the same interlobular tissue
a thin layer of amorphous material, and, not infrequently,
small ecchymoses. The pulmonary tissue is oedematous, and
contains less air than usual. These appearances at the com-
mencement are usually noticed in the interior of the lung,
without disease of the pleura. If, however, superficial portions
of tissue are effected, the pleura participates, becomes opaque,
and, still later, is covered with an exudation which is also found
beneath it. In very rare cases, this change takes place not only
in the interlobular tissue, or in this and the pleura, but also in
the pulmonary tissue itself, i. e., the vesicular structure, which,
as we have seen, is ordinarily the seat of oedema only. In
many cases, large portions of the cellular tissue are attacked,
and sometimes the process commences upon the surface and in
the deeper seated parts of the lung at the same time. The
disease either commences in one lung and is limited to it, or
extends to the other, or invades both luiigs at the same time,
which is, however, more rare. At a still later period the cut
surface presents a marbled appearance, and the pleura is covered
with a layer of false membrane, the thickness of which varies
in different cases. In the pleural cavity or in the interstices of
the fibrinous exudation is found more or less serum.

Still later, the lungs are found enlarged, and their weight much
increased. They are firm, compact, liver-like, and there is an
absence of crepitation. The surface is not uniform, but divided

50 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

into irregular portions by numerous broad, yellowisli-white
lines. Tlic cut surface presents the same marljlcd appearance
as before, caused by the change in the interlobular tissue, which
is sometimes from one to two lines thick. With these, the red
intervening tissue contrasts strongly. From the surface there
flows a red serum. Tiie smaller bronchia, on close examina-
tion, do not present a trace of exudation, and, in the larger,
the mucous membrane is perfectly normal. As the ])roper
j)ulmonary tissue is only infiltrated with serum, we may force
the latter out, and then inflate the lung. Sometimes tliere are
ecchymoses or larger effusions of blood, but rarely hepatization
of the sul)stance of the lung, this being exceptional.

The new material found in the interlobular tissue varies in
different parts. "Where it is in contact with the lobules it re-
sembles cellular tissue in process of formation. It cannot be
distinguished from that which forms in other inflammatory con-
ditions, in the neighborhood of organized parts. The portion of
new material farthest removed from the living tissue is fre-
quently not organized, and may form a caseous friable layer,
composed perhaps of distinct laminae. Under the microscope
it presents nothing characteristic.

In many cases irregular portions of lung of various sizes are
partially or entirely separated, and afterwards become enclosed
in a sac several lines in thickness, composed of newly-formed
cellular tissue. This change simulates what we find in tuber-
cular disease, but in the latter the encysted, masses are much
smaller. The small masses, however, in both cases, may after
a time become calcarious, and thus be mistaken for each other.
The mass mentioned is not always completely detached, but is
sometimes retained in the cavity by a portion which still main-
tains an organic connection with the surrounding parts. The
masses, when removed, generally appear as if just separated, and
have undergone no gangrenous change. The interlobular ma-
terial and the pulmonary tissue may be easily distinguished on
the cut surface. The mass, however, in some very severe cases
docs become gangrenous.

After the disease has reached an advanced stage, incomplete
restoration may take place, but large detached masses are not
absorbed as is shown by the examination of animals in v/hich
they have been found as large as one, two, or three fists, a

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 51

year after recovery. In the other organs we usually find no
changes, and if any exist tliey are not essential.

Having thus shown that there has prevailed for a long time
among the cattle of Great Britain and Europe a disease, wJiich
is in all probability contagious, and having described its most
marked peculiarities, let us examine the facts belonging to the
disease which made its appearance in our community during
the past year. The medical board was appointed at a time when
the disease no longer existed in an active state, and after most
of the affected animals had been destroyed. On this account
it was useless to attempt any experiments ; and to obtain any
knowledge of the disease, it was necessary to rely upon the
records of the Commissioners, which are unfortunately of such
a character that portions only could be used, as we felt com-
pelled to reject every doubtful statement. We do not intend
to deny that the animals reported as diseased were so, but the
terms used are not such as to convey an accurate idea to a
medical man.

HISTORY AND PATHOLOGY.

No better history can be given of the origin of the disease in
this couimy than by inserting a copy of a letter from Mr.
Chenery, published in the Boston Cultivator on March 7th.

Boston, March 7, 18G0.

Dear Sir, — In compliance with your request, I take pleasure in
furnishing you with a succinct account of my last importation of cattle
from Holland, and, also, of the disease that subsequently prevailed in
my herd at the Highland Farm in Belmont, as is now generally sup-
posed, in consequence of that importation.

It may be remarked, that I had previously made two importations
of cattle from Holland, and the extraordinary superiority of the animals
received from that source, in comparison, either with our native, or any
of the foreign breeds heretofore imported, induced me to increase my
stock of Dutch cattle by further importations, rather than wait the natu-
I'al increase from those already imported.

Accordingly, in December, 1858, I transmitted an order to my cor-
respondents in Schiedam, Holland, instructing them to employ a compe-
tent person expressly to proceed to the north of Holland and make
selections of the best animals that could be obtained without regard to
the expense. Following my instructions, four cows were procured from

52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Purmerend and the Beemster, and Mcre duly shipped at Rotterdam, on
board the barque " J. C. Humphrey.-;," which vessel saih'd from that
port early in April, and arrived here on the 23d of May, 1659,

Upon examination, the cows were found to be in an extremely bad
condition, — very much bruised and emaciated, — one of them, as the
mate of tlie barque stated, not having lieen on her feet during the twenty
days preceding her arrival ; another one was totally unable to walk, and
these two animals were accordingly carried to the farm in wagons — the
remaining two wei'e driven out-
Deeming it impossible for the first mentioned cow to recover, she was on
the 31st of May slaughtered, and on the 2d of June following, the second
cow died. At tliat time, in common Avith every one knowing the fact in
the case, I was so fully persuaded that the bad condition of these ani-
mals was caused by neglect on the voyage, that I libelled the vessel and
went through a course of $150 worth of law in my endeavors to obtain
indemnity for the loss, but the law is uncertain, and the barque went on
her way. My mind, however, remains unchanged with regard to the
treatment the animals received on the voyage.

The third cow of this importation seemed to be doing well until
about the 20th of June, when she became sick and died in ten days
after. The fourth cow, Lady Beemster, has down to this time shown no
indications of sickness, but is, on the contrary, in a thriving condition.

Early in the month of August foUoAving, symptoms of ^sease were
observable in the Dutch cow, Lady Louise, (imported in 1852.) She
died on the 20th of the same month. About this time several other
animals were taken sick in rapid succession, and then it Avas that the
idea A\as first advanced that the disease A\'as identical Avith that known
in Europe as " epizootic pleuro-pueumonia." From that dale every
possible precaution Avas taken to prevent the spread of the supposed dis-
temper, strict orders having been given that no animals should be alloAved
to leave the fiirm, nor any strange cattle to come upon the premises.
A temjjorary building AAas erected in a pasture at considerable distance
from the farm-barn, to Avhich the animals not infected Avere removed
and disinfecting agents were used about the premises, &c.

The folloAving extract from my letter book, in ansAver to an applica-
tion for stock during the prevalence of the disease, will serve to shoAV
my vicAvs Avith regard to it at that time : " I am, at present, obliged to
decline any ap^^lications for stock, OAving to an epidemic disease in my herd.
The disease is that knoAvn as ' pleuro-pneumonia,' and I have already
lost seventeen head, and have ten more very sick. I am using every
precaution to prevent the disease from spreading, and you Avill of course
see the propriety of my refusing to allow any aninud to leave the farm
until the infection has ceased."

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 63

It is manifest tliat tlu' means used to prevent the spread of the dis-
temper have so far proved eminently successful, inasmuch as, notwith-
standing I have lost some thirty animals — nearly half of my whole
herd — there has not been a single case of the disease elsewhere in the
neighborhood of my farm.

As there seems to be an impression abroad that the disease in my
case was confined exclusively to the Dutch stock, I would remark that
such is not the fact ; that on the contrary, they have, comparatively, been
more exempt from it than any other breed. It is not, however, confined
to any particular breed, or to any age or sex, as the full-grown ox, the
mature cow, and the young calf have been alike prostrated by it; and
of the animals lost, five were thorough-bred Dutch, five Durham, one
Ayrshire, one Guernsey, two Jerseys, five Devons, two Natives, (all the
Natives on the farm.) and the remainder were grade Dutch.

There has been no new case of sickness in my herd since the death
of the mammoth cow, Lady Washington, which occurred on the 8th of
January, and I am therefore induced to believe, that, so far as my animals
are concerned, the disease has run its course.

From the foregoing remarks, it will be perceived that some months
ago, when the disease was raging, I believed it to be infectious or conta-
gious, but I confess that more recently the conviction has forced itself
upon me that it was of an entirely local character ; that the lungs of the
cattle had become diseased by breathing carbonic acid gas, generated in
the cow house in consequence of insufficient ventilation. The recent
developments with regard to the spread of the disease in North Brook-
field and vicinity — in tracing its origin to the calves that w^ent from my
farm in June last — together with the information that I have just received
in a letter from Holland, upon the subject, (published in the " Cultivator"
of last Aveek,) will, I fear, force me back again to the belief that it is the
veritable European scourge.

With regard to the treatment of the disease, I can only say that
several of our most eminent veterinary surgeons have availed themselves
of the opportunity to study the disease by post mortem examinations
and otherwise, and arc, doubtless, competent to give valuable information
upon the subject. My own privateopinion, based upon costly experience,
is, that whenever an animal becomes really sick with this distemper, the
best treatment is to slaughter and bury forthwith. In Holland, the prac-
tice of inoculation as a preventive — as explained in the letter referred
to above, and which has been given to the public — has been productive
of extremely gratifying results, for " where the peasants formerly lost
from fifty to sixty per cent, of their cattle, they now lose only one per
cent."

7*

54 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

In eoiicliiding tliis long letter, I beg to say that if it shall prove that,
through my ellbrts to improve the breeds ol" neat cattle, I have been the
means of introducing this disease into the countiy, I am sure no one
can possibly regret it more sincerely than myself. At the same time, I
find some consolation in believing that, — provided the disease can be
restricted to any thing like its present limits, — the benefits conferred by
the introduction of the Dutch cattle here will more than outweigh the
losses incurred by the introduction of the disease. Respectfully,

WlXTHKOP W. ChEXERY.

Let us now trace the further extension of the disease.

Curtis Stoddard, a young farmer of North Brookfield, bought
of W. W. Chenery, of Belmont, in June, 1859, three young
cattle, one bull, and two heifers, from six to eighteen months
old.

These he took by railroad to East Brookfield, and then drove
them, on the 29th of June, to his farm in North Brookfield, six
miles from the depot. One calf showed signs of sickness on the
way from the depot.

The Chenery Calves.

Leonard Stoddard of North Brookfield, father of Curtis
Stoddard, thinking he could better treat this sick calf than his
son, took it to his own barn, where it mingled freely, four or
five days, with tiie other cattle. It was then returned to Curtis
Stoddard's barn, wliere it remained till it died, in a pen next
to a passage way through whicli Curtis's cows passed to be
milked, night and morning. This calf was notexamined. Tlie
two other Chenery calves, after Curtis Stoddard's auction, went
to Roland F. Doane's, and were there killed by the Commis-
sioners and examined. These two calves never showed before
death any particular symptoms of disease. Tlieir histories will
be given in the proper place. We will now trace the disease in
the herd exposed to the first calf.

Leonard Stoddard's Herd.

This herd was well until after coming in contact with the sick
Chenery calf. Two weeks after the deatli of the animal, a cow
belonging to Leonard Stoddard's herd sickened, and in a few
weeks died. There is no record of a post mortem. Tiiis herd

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 55

consisted of forty-eight head, exclusive of calves, the latter
being in all our calculations excluded. One animal after another
was attacked till the 12th of April, when thirteen head had died,
and most of those remaining were showing symptoms of disease.
They were afterwards killed by order of the Commissioners,
and a few examined with the following results : —

Autopsy 1. — This cow appeared badly. Slic coughed, but it was
said, ate well. The po^^terior lobe of the lung adhered to the diaphragm,
was indurated, and contained a cyst in which was a very small (puintity
of pus, and a mass of detached lung of the size of a quart measure.
This was connected with the main portion of the lung by bronchi, some
of which had been cut off in such a manner as to admit air into the cyst.
The mass was offensive, friable, and on incision did not present the
bright, mottled, organized appearance of similar masses lying in air-tight
cysts. There was no serum in the chest. — Dr. Martin, April 12, 1860.

Autopsy 2. — An ox 7 years old. The lung was extensively and firmly
adherent in various parts, and ahnost " as hard as a stone." On incision
there was found a large cyst containing pus and lymph. — Drs. Dadd
and Thatek, April 19, 1860.

Autopsy 3. A steer 3 years old. The owner said that this animal
was but slightly, if at all sick. The left lung was adherent to the pleura
costalis, and diaphi'agm. On incision there was found in the middle a
large cyst containing pulmonary tissue. The right lung was adherent,
but its substance healthy. — Drs. Dadd and Tiiaxer, April 19, 1860.

Autopsy 4. — A steer 2 years old. Marked adhesion of the posterior
superior portion of the lung to the diaphragm. Some consolidation of
the lung. The right lung contained a cyst in which was a mass not
entirely separated. — Drs. Dadd and Thayer, April 19, 1860.

Autopsy 5. — A cow 8 years old. The owner said that this animal
was one of the most healthy in his herd. At the apex of the left lung
was a very large slough. Tiiere was also red hepatization. — Drs. Dadd
and Thayer, April 19, 1860.

Autopsy 6. — An ox 7 years old, owned by Curtis Stoddard, and
exposed to the Clienery calf during the illness of the latter. The supe-
rior anterior portion of the right lung was much enlarged, and contained
a large cyst, in which w^as a quantity of pus and a mass of detached
pulmonary tissue. Left lung adherent to the diaphragm. — Drs. Dadd
and Tyler, April 20, 1860.

Autopsy 7. — The anterior lobe of the right lung adhered to the ster-
num. A portion of the pulmonary tissue was separated and contained^
in a cyst. — Drs. Bates, Dadd and Thayer, April 21, 1860.

56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Autojjsy 8. — A yearling heifer, Much serum was found in the chest,
and the pleural surfaces were extensively adherent. The sub^^tance of
the right lung was completely marbled, some parts having suppurated
while others were only indurated. — Dr. Tyler, April 27, 1860.

Other examinations are reported in connection with the herd,
but in such language that no definite conclusion can be drawn
from them.

Alclen Olmstead' s Herd.

Monday, November 28, 1859, Leonard Stoddard sold a pair
of oxen from his diseased herd to illden Olmstead, of the same
town. Mr. Olmstead kept the oxen till the next Saturday, and
then exchanged them for another yoke belonging to William
F. Doane, who kept them until they were killed on May 9th,
1860. This yoke of oxen showed at their examination after
death unequivocal marks of disease of a character similar to
that previously described.

Li two weeks after these oxen left Mr. Olmstead's herd, one
of his (Olmstead's) animals, was attacked with coughing, shiver-
ing, grunting, and rapid respiration. In two or three weeks it
died, but there was no post mortem examination. One animal
after another was taken sick, so that on the 12th of April seven
out of twenty-three had died, or were so near death, that, to
prevent hopeless suffering, they were slaughtered. Many of
the remaining animals were in a bad condition, and the entire
herd was finally slaughtered by the Commissioners. Several
examinations were made.

Aiitopsjj 9. — Killed a cow which had been sick nineteen days. She
was feeble, had but little a|)()etite, diarrluca, cough, and shortness of
breath. Hair rough, &c. Percussion dull over all the left side of chest,
with absence of respiration. The left pleural cavity contained several
gallons of serum, by estimate. Over the costal pleura was a firm layer
of lymph resembling tiie velvety parts of tripe. The whole lung was
indurated, especially at its base, and brittle, like liver. No pus. Right
side and lung healthy. — Dr. Martin, April 11, 18G0.

Autopsy 10. — Killed a cow 10 years old. Sick since January. Dul-
ness over tiie left side. On opening it there was a gush of Icctid matter
as thick as tar. Strong adhesions to the ribs. In this lung was a large
tumor enveloped in a cyst or sac. Right lung indurated. — Drs. Dadd,
TnAYEii and Tyler, April 19, 18G0.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 57

Aiifopsy 11. — Killed a calf 3 weeks old. In the right pleural cav-
ity was a quart of serum. Lj'^mph, easily separated, was spread over
the surface of the lung. The left lung adhered to the ribs, sternum, and
pericardium. — Drs. Dadd, Thayer and Tyler, April 19, 18G0.

Autopsy 12. — Killed a cow 10 years old, which had been sick three
or four months. The posterior superior portions of the right lung ad-
hered so strongly to the ribs and diaphragm, that the knife was neces-,
sary for their separation. On opening the posterior part of the lung a
detached mass was found, very soft, surrounded by pus and contained in
a sac. Left lung healthy. — Drs. Bates, Dadd and Tuayer, April 21,
1860.

Autopsy 10. — Left lung healthy, but slight adhesions to diaphragm.
Right lung firmly adherent to the diaphragm. Li it was found a mass
of consolidated lung not entirely separated. — Drs. Bates, Dadd and
Thayer, April, 21, 18 GO.

Autopsy 14. — Killed a calf 4 weeks old. Right lung inflamed. Left
chest filled with serum. Lung covered with lymph. Drs. Bates,
Dadd and Thayer, April 21, 1860.

Autopsy 15. — Killed a cow 9 years old, and mother of the calf. In
the right lung was a cyst of the size of a pullet's egg, filled with pus.
The left lung contained a small cyst filled with the same. Heart flabby
— Drs. Bates, Dadd and Thayer, April 21, 1860.

Autopsy 16. — Killed a stag that was in the "big team." Three
months befoi'e, he had been sick for four weeks, but had recovered, and
had been working very hard. Serum in the right pleural cavity. Lung
indurated, and adherent throughout so strongly to the ribs and diaphragm,
that it was necessary to cut or scrape it oflT. In this lung was a small
cyst.— Examined May 9, 1860.

Autopsy 17. — Killed the other stag. Left lung useless. Serum in
the chest. Right lung in the acute inflammatory stage.

These stags were taken December 3d, 1860, in exchange for a yoke
of oxen sold at the same time to William F. Doane, and kept with 01m-
stead's diseased herd. They were in the "big team" December 19th.
—Examined May 9, 1860.

Alanson A. Needhanis Herd, New Braintree.
January 3d, 18(30, Mr. Needham took three animals from
Stoddard's diseased herd into his, which was at that time well.
One of these animals was sick when purchased, so that he kept
her but three weeks, and then drove her back to Stoddard's,
where she died. There was no post mortem. The two steers
never appeared sick. On the 30th of January, twenty-seven

58 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

days after the introduction of these cattle, a cow of his original
herd was taken sick ; then one after another drooped till most
of his herd were attacked, and eight out of twenty-two died
before April 11th. Those which did not die from the disease
were killed by the Commissioners, and may of them examined.

Autopsrj 18. — Killed a cow which was taken s^ick on January 30th,
18G0. In fourteen days she began to get better. When killed she was
gaining flesh, breathed well, and the hair was healthy. She gave ten
quarts of milk a day, and in all other respects was healthy, with the
exception that she had a slight cough. Percussion dull over the base
of the left lung, near the spine, and respiration feeble in the same re-
gion. Left lung strongly adherent to the ribs and diaphragm. The
long adhesions were smooth, and the pleura, wdiere free from these, was
healthy. The lung was of a light pink color, and permeable to air,
except at the base, m which was a cyst containing a pint or two of pus.
Floating loose in this pus, was a hard mass as large as a two quart
measure. This on incision w^as found marbled in the centre, and pre-
sented the appearance of indurated lung detached by suppuration. The
cyst seemed to be air tight, the bronchi being plugged with lymph. — Dr.
Martin, April 11, 1860.

Autopsy 19. — Killed a cow which had been sick fourteen days and was
so sick as to be scarcely able to walk. She was coughing and breathing
badly. Hair rough. Percussion didl o^•er Ijoth sides and respiration
very feeble. Both pleural canities were filled with serum, and there
was a deposit of lymph upon the costal pleura an inch thick. The right
lung was indurated at its base, and the left tliroughout its whole extent.
These diseased portions were brittle, like the liver. Firm adhesion to
the diaphragm and ribs near the spine, the lungs being forced back from
the parietes elsewhere by the accumulated serum. Nearly one-third of
the right lung Avas conqjressed by the serum. — Dr. Martin, A[)ril 11,
18G0.

Autopsy 20. — Killed a heifer belonging to Charles Wilcox, a neighbor
of Mr. Needham. She was kei)t with Mr. Needham's herd because, as
she coughed, it was feared she might have contracted the disease from
these infected animals. She was in fair condition and ate well. There
was dulness on percussion, over the base of the left lung, which part
adhered to the ribs and diaphragm, and was indurated. On cutting into
this diseased lung there were found ulceration, and a head of Timothy
grass, four or five inches long. This animal was in every other respect
well.— Dr. Martin, April 11, 18G0.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 69

Autopsy 21. — Ivillcd an animal which had been sick four weeks.
Right hing indurated at the base and adherent to the diaphragm and
costal pleura ; in it was a cyst containing a little pus, and a mass of pul-
monary tissue, separated on one side only. — Dr. Martin, April 18, 1860.

C. P. Huntingdon'' s Herd, North Brookfield.

On the loth or IGth of October, 1859, Mr. Iluntingtoii
bought a cow of Leonard Stoddard. This cow was taken sick
on November 1st, and died on December 5th. No postmortem.
December 15th, an animal in Mr. Huntington's herd was taken
sick, then one animal after another showed symptoms of severe
disease, till scarcely one appeared well. Before the 12th of
April, eight out of twenty-two had died. No post mortem.

The remaining animals were killed by the Commissioners,
and many were examined post mortem.

Autopsy 22. — A cow was attacked on January 1st with a cough,
difficulty of breathing and other symptoms of disease, and continued sick
till March 1st. On taking her out April 12th, to be slaughtered, she
capered, stuck up her tail, snuffed and snorted, showing all the signs of
feeling well and vigorous. Right lung firmly adherent to the diaphragm
and costal pleura near the spine. No serum. The posterior part of the
lung was indurated and contained a cyst, in which was a mass of the size
of a two quart measure, floating in pus. The outer portion of this w^as
of a yellowish-white color, irregular, brittle and caseous. The interior
was mottled, or divided into irregular squares, red, and was crushed by
pressure like the hepatic substance. The remainder of the lung was
apparently healthy, except for a short distance about the air-tight cyst,
where it was indurated. — Dr. Martin, April 12, 18G0.

Autopsy 23. — The animal was attacked on December loth, and
was very sick. In three wrecks she appeared well, but still had quite a
severe cough, which continued till about the 1st of March when it
became worse and so continued till April 5th, when she calved, after
which she improved and appeared as if about to recover, but was killed
on the 12th. On examination, the right lung was found adherent to
the diaphragm and costal pleura. At the posterior part was a flaccid
fluctuating cyst ; on opening this, an offensive, decomposing mass of
pulmonary tissue was found ; otherwise nothing abnormal. — Dr. Martix,
April 12, 186e.

Autopsy 24. — Killed a heifer, which had coughed slightly for six
weeks, but the owner said that he thought no one going into his herd

60 BOARD OF AORICULTURE.

"would notice licr illne.-s. There were slight adhesions of the lungs to
the diai)liragm. Near these were small cysts of the size of a Avalnut,
containing pus and caseous matter. The pulnjonary tissue was indurated
to the depth of a!)out half an inch around the cysts ; it appeared as if
the inflammation had attacked isolated lobules of the lung, leaving the
intervening portions intact. — Dr. Martin, April 12, 1860.

A yoke of oxen belonging to William Fullam were bought
from C. P. Huntington's herd, and travelled over the county
" teaming " extensively during the winter and spring of 1860.
They were killed. One was examined by Dr. Dadd on May
14th. He reported the " right lung hepatized, adlierent to the
di:iphragm, and serum in the chest." " A portion of . detached
lung in a cyst in the left chest."

Aldcn B. Woodis'' Herd, New Braintree.

About the 12th of December, Leonard Stoddard began to
feed his oxen at Mr. Woodis' barn. Stoddai-d was drawing
lumber to a steam saw-mill near Woodis' farm, and was also
drawing wood from New Braintree to the village of North
Brookfield.

About the middle of January, one of these oxen was taken
sick. Three weeks after these Stoddard oxen showed signs of
disease, the first cow in Woodis' herd was taken sick ; then one
animal after another was attacked till April 12th. Previous to
this date, four animals had been killed, as having no chance for
recovery ; this was equal to four deaths out of a herd of twenty-
one animals. There were no examinations. The oxen supposed
to liave given the disease to this herd, were examined at the
slaughter of Leonard Stoddard's herd, and found badly diseased.
The remaining animals were killed by order of the Commission-
ers and several were examined post mortem.

Autopsy 2^). — Killed a cow, whicli had l)ccn sick tln-ce weeks. A
large quantity of serum in the left jjlcural cavity. A layer of false
memln'ane an inch in thickness covered the costal pleural. Lung adhe-
rent and indurated at tlie posterior part. On cutting into the latter
portion, a cyst was found, containing a mass, one side of whicli was sep-
arated from the lung and surrounded by pus. The right pleural cavity
contained a small (puinlity of serum ami in llie corresponding lung were

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 61

several small solidified iiortions, with some delicate adhesions, but most
of the organ was healthy.

Autopsy 2G. — Killed a heifer 3 years old, which had been sick ten
days. The right pleural cavity contained about ten quarts of serum,
and a large quantity of lymph. The left lung was mostly consolidated,
and adhered to the costal pleura. A small part of the lower portion of
the lung was unatiected. — Drs. Thayek and Dadd, April 12, 18 GO.

Curtis Stoddard, 2d's, Herd.

This herd is the one into which the Chcnery calves were
introduced on their arrival in North Brookficld. The herd
passed and repassed the sick Chenery calf in a pen, beside the
passage-way through which the cows went twice a day to be
milked. Of the three Chenery calves, one died about the 20th
of July, 1859, before any thing was known about the disease
in this vicinity, and was consequently not examined post
mortem.

Let us now trace the history of the two remaining Chenery
calves. As previously stated, they went to Roland F. Doane's,
for keeping, immediately after Stoddard's auction, on Novem-
ber 2d, 1859. The bull-calf was at West Brookfield cattle-show
in the Autumn of 1859, and stood next to a bull belonging to
the hospital at Worcester. These two Chenery calves were
afterwards slaughtered by the commission in April or May,
with the cattle belonging to Mr. Doane.

Autopsy 27. — The bull-calf, aged eleven months, and wliich stood at
West Brookfield last Autumn, beside the hospital bull from Worcester,
and near many other cattle, was killed at Roland F. Doane's barn. Here
are the records as taken by the secretary of the Cattle Commissioners.
" Right lung ; general appearance healthy, but on close examination,
distinctly marked spots of exudation were discovered in several places ;
mucus membrane of trachea injected ; left lung in a similar condition-
The disease was regarded by the surgeons as in the progressive stage." —
Drs. Dadd and Thayer, April 13, 1860.

The evidence here does not seem conclusive of disease —
morbid appearances are not distinctly described. This animal
left Mr. Chenery'^ diseased herd in June, 1859, and was
examined in April, 1860. If contagious, it would probably
have been in its advanced, not in its early stage — still, this is
8*

62 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

not quite certain. It might have taken the disease later, from
some newly diseased animal in Roland F. Doane's herd.

Autopsy 28. — The Chenery heifer, killed at Roland F. Doane's. The
following is the record : " In the posterior lobe of the riglit hmg was a
large spot of emidiysema, a portion of the lung carnificd. Over the
wliole posterior lobe a mottled appearance, showing traces of chronic
disease. The under surface of the lung was very much discolored.
Found exudation into the parenchyma and air-cells. The connecting
tissue of the lung thickened as in other cases. The left lung in the same
general condition." — Drs. Tyler and Dadd, May 3, 1860.

This animal may have had tlie disease, l)ut the description is
so vague that it is not quite certain that " carnified" "mottled,"
" discolored " " exudation into air-cells," do not mean the
same thing, viz. : a want of free emptying of the blood vessels,
or in common language, settling of the blood in the lungs,
which is not a disease. " Emphysema " is no part of pleuro-
pneumonia. It exists in many otherwise well lungs. The
cellular " tissue " in cattle is much thicker in health tlian in
man.

Of the remainder of Curtis Stoddard's herd, the following
disposition was made : —

Seven animals went into his fatlier's herd, three to Osborn
Whiting's, one to J. Shay, of North Brookfield, one to Moses
Pollard, of New Brain tree, one to Benjamin Cummings, of North
Brookfield, two to J. W. Tucker, of same place, one to Michael
or Dennis Murphy, ditto, and one to Avery Tucker, of North
Brookfield, from him to Richards, of West Brookfield, and from
him to Bowen, of Sturbridge.

The seven animals first mentioned were slaughtered with
the others belonging to Curtis Stoddard's father, no separate
record of them being kept. The three which went to Osborn
Whiting's were also slaughtered with the rest of his herd, and
it is believed that the one animal examined belonged to these
three. The following report of the examination is taked from
the records : —

Autopsy 29. — "The right lung was found to be very much enlarged."
" The left showed many spots of red hepatization both deep seated and
superficial." "The chest contained about a half a pint of serum." — Dr.
Dadd, April 24, 18G0.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 63

This description fails to convey to the mind of the Examining
Board any definite idea of disease. This cow went from Curtis
Stoddard's November 2d, 1859, and had no other known
exposure than in his herd.

The one sold to Shay is now alive and considered well.

The one sold to Pollard was killed by the Commissioners in
April or May, and pronounced diseased by Dr. Dadd, but no
description was given. The herd is well now. . The one sold
to Cummings was killed and examined by Dr. Martin, on April
12th, and pronounced free from pleuro-pneumonia.

Of the two animals sold to Tucker, one is alive and considered
well, the other was killed and examined by Dr. Dadd, but the
following indefinite record is all that can be obtained. (^Ati-
topsij 30.) " Found in a state of general disease. One lung
in the acute, the other in the chronic stage." Of course no
conclusion can be drawn from such statements.

The one sold to Murphy was killed on May 10th, and accord-
ing to Dr. Dadd, (^Autopsy ol,^ "proved to be badly diseased;"
with what is not stated.

The one which passed from Tucker through Richards to
Boweu, of Sturbridge, was also killed on May 9th, and pro-
nounced (^Autopsy 32) " diseased," by Dadd, but no description
is given.

Silas H. Big-eloiv^s Herd.

Mr. Bigelow's oxen were kept near C. P. Huntington's barn.
Huntington's cattle passed Mr. Bigelow's premises, and Mr.
Bigelow's oxen passed Leonard Stoddard's diseased oxen in the
road.

This herd was killed and one ox and one cow examined post
mortem.

The ox, ten years old, had been ill two weeks with " cough,
loss of appetite, sore eyes and weakness."

Autopsy 33. — The examination showed the left lung firmly adherent
to the costal pleura. It weighed twenty-three pounds and " was a mass
of tubercular matter." The right lung adhered to the diaphragm. — Dr.
Tylek, April 28.

Autopsy 34. — Cow 11 years old. The right lung adhered to the
costal pleura at the sixth i-ib. The recoi'd appears to show that a large
portion of the right lung, weighing a pound and a half, was enclosed in
a sac, and found on incision to be '"marbled." — Drs. Ttleu and Dadd,
April 30.

64 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Leivis E. HilPs Herd.

This liei'd came in contact with Leonard Stoddard's over a
low, slight fence, during the autumn of 1859, and one of the
animals was so sick on April 21st, that it could not be driven a
third of a mile to be slaughtered. On this account, another,
less reduced, was chosen.

This wliole herd was killed and three animals were examined
post mortem. Not one died of the disease, but two would
probably have done so in a few days, had they not been slaugh-
tered for investigation.

Autopsy 35. — One of the animals killed had been ailing for a week
and was very feeble. The following are the results of the examination.
Some adhesions of the right lung to the parietes. Several gallons of
serum In the chest. In the right lung was a large cyst containing a
mass of pulmonary tissue, as in previous cases. A large part of the left
lung was solldltied.

Two other autopsies are reported, but in so indefinite a
manner that the character of the disease is not clear.

D. W. Hooker's Herd.
Part of them were kept at Leonard Stoddard's. All were
killed and two examined post mortem, by Drs. Tyler and Dadd,
one on April 20th, Avhen no appearances are described. The
important points in the other are the following : —

Autopsy 36. — Lymph on the pleural surface of the right lung. In the
superior lobe was a cyst containing a mass of pidmonary tissue.

Roland F. Doane's Herd.

This person had the two Chenery calves to keep, and Curtis
Stoddard carted hay tiicre with his oxen from his father's herd.
Two animals besides the Chenery calves Avliere examined after
death.

This herd it is believed was slaughtered, but the records do
not say. The two auto{)sies made by Drs. Dadd and Tyler,
reported in connection with these cases, are unintelligible.

James Hunter'' s Herd, Spencer.
Had a yoke of oxen from the " big team " of E. D. Knight.
These oxen were kept several days at Lewis E. Hill's. This

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 65

licrd was slaughtered on May 10. The records are not suffi-
ciently defiuite to enable us to give a positive opinion, but it is
probable that it had the disease. They were in the immediate
neighborhood of Leonard Stoddard's and Lewis Hill's.

The " Big Team:'

In this team worked forty-eight oxen, and six more were in
the immediate vicinity, awaiting orders. These oxen belonged
to fifteen different individuals, and went home on December 19th,
into fifteen separate herds. They were used to move a build-
ing from Oakham to North Brookfield. They were owned as
follows, viz. : —

2 — William F. Doane. Killed and found diseased, May 1, 1860.

2— Alden Olmstead. " " " " May 9, 18 GO.

4 — John Hill. Two examined by Drs. Martin and Stickuey, Decem-
ber 17th, 1860, and found sound.

4 — George W. Knight. Killed, and two examined by Drs. Martin,
Ellis, and Stickney. Sound.

6 — Elijah D. Knight. One killed and examined by Dr. Tyler, Avho
describes no disease.

4 — George Harwood. Two killed and examined by Drs. Dadd and
Tyler, on May 2cl. Evidence of disease not conclusive in these,
or in any of Ilarwood's herd.

4 — Jonathan Pellett. Two killed at A. B. Pollard's. No record.

2 — Ebenezer Parkman. Two killed with whole herd. No record.

2 — Joel M. Kingsbury. Two killed, one examined. No description,
May 10th.

4 — J. Hubbard Deland. Killed, but no record.

6 — William M. Deland. No record made of examination.

4 — Chailes H. Stoddard. No records of examination.

4 — Charles T. Kendrick. One killed and examined by Dr. Dadd,
May 3d.

2 — Roland F. Doane. Not with the big team, but in the neighbor-
hood. Killed with his herd. No separate record of exami-
nadon.

4 — Leonard Stoddard. Also killed with the herd. No separate record.

54 head.

William F. Doane' s Herd.
In this herd was the yoke of oxen traded by Leonard Stod-
dard to Alden Olmstead, in whose herd they remained

66 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

five days, when tlicy were transferred to Doane, and sixteen
days afterwards worked in, and it was supposed gave the dis-
ease to the " big team " on December 19th. They also worked
on December 15th with a yoke of oxen belonging to Chenery
BothwcU, and at about the same time worked two days with
John Hill's oxen.

Autopsy 37. — One of these oxen was killed and examined by Drs.
Dadd and Tyler on May 1st. In the right lung, which was extensively
adherent to the ribs and diaphragm, was a mass of detached lung con-
tained within a cyst.

Autopsy 38. — The other ox was examined, but by Avhom is not
stated. Adhesions and a cyst containing pulmonary tissue were found
here also.

A cow and a calf l>elonging to tliis herd were examined, and judging
from the record, cannot be considered as diseased.

"We see, therefore, that among the oxen in the "big team"
that were not in herds fatally diseased previous to or after the
19th of December, no well defined case is found in all the
records of the Commissioners.

The same is true in regard to Curtis Stoddard's herd, sold
at auction November 2d, 1859. There are some suspicious
circumstances in regard to this (Curtis Stoddard's) herd, but
the records do not show a single well defined case.

One yoke of oxen that worked in the " big team," and was
owned at the time by Charles T. Kendrick, was sold to William
B. Dwelly, of Oakham. One of these oxen died of rupture of
the bladder in April or May last. The other was killed for
beef this last autumn, and reported as being well.

We have been thus particular in giving the history of these
several herds to show the innumerable changes that are con-
stantly taking place among the cattle of the farmers of this
Commonwealtli.

A very large number of other herds were reported as diseased
by the medical gentlemen in charge. Some were said to be in
the " incipient stage," others in the " acute stage," others in
the " chronic stage," many " with thickening of the investing
membrane," more with " hypertrophy " and " emphysema,"
and " red hepatization " — but what idea it was intended to

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 67

convey by these terms it has been impossible for tis to form an
opinion. But as it was so frequently found, "we are forced to
conclude that it was something belonging to healthy animals of
the bovine race.

3l7\ Chenery^s Herd.

June 2d. 1860, Dr. Martin examined a one year old black
and white Dutch heifer after slaughtering. She was taken
quite sick in September, 1859, and continued very sick about
six weeks ; then she apparently began to recover. When
slaughtered her eyes looked bright, her hair was glossy and
smooth, and the appetite was good. She had coughed some
since the first attack. Percussion dull over the whole of the
right side of the chest. On applying the ear, a coarse mucous
rattle was heard at the base of the right lung. The left side
of the chest wa^ normal, with the exception tliat the respiration
was more distinct than usual.

Autopsy 39. — At the examination there were found universal firm
adhesions of the riglit lung. In the latter was a pouch large enough to
hold a quart or two, with a smooth inner surface, resembling mucous
membrane ; branching off from the pouch were bronchial tubes. The
lung Avas of a light pink color, and floated in water — it felt like leather,
and seemed to have been so compressed that its cells only partially
admitted the air. The heart was thin and flaccid. Left ventricle thinner
than the right.

Autopsy 40. — Killed a cow six years old ; she was taken into the herd
December 1st, 1859, as step-mother for a calf whose own mother had
died. This cow was presenting all the general appearances of health,
but had a slight cough. No adhesions ; no serum; but at the base of the
right lung was a darki<h-red portion somewhat more than three inches
square, heavy, and firm, like liver. It did not collapse with the rest of
the lung, and was friable. On incision, pus was seen to fill the divided
bronchi in such a way as to give the cut surface the appearance of being
covered with small pustules. The remainder of this and the other lung
appeared healthy. — Dr. Martin, June 2.

There have been killed, from time to time, since September
25th, 1860, in Mr. Chenery's herd, twenty-one animals in all,
of various ages and conditions. Of these twenty-one animals,
nine were found free from any disease whatever. Of the other

68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

twelve, many presented more or less extensive old adhesions
of the lungs to the ribs and diaphragm. None had serum in
the chest. In the lungs were yellow, friable, caseous nodules
of various sizes, the smallest being perhaps a line, the largest
four or five inches in diameter. The central portions of some
of these being soft, were apparently surrounded by thick, whitish
membrane ; but this, from the irregularity of its inner surface,
was prol)ably only a portion of the original mass, which had not
been broken down. In some, marked calcareous degeneration
had taken place. The bronchial glands in a number of cases
were much enlarged and similarly diseased. In one instance
like formations existed in the liver ; and in another, two cysts
were found external to the lung, one about six inches in diame-
ter, the other not more than three. Tlieso botli contained a
yellow fibrinous material and calcareous matter.

On microscopic examination nothing was seen but pulmo-
nary tissue, small irregular granular cupuscles, with granular
and fatty matter. None of these were characteristic of any
particular disease, and appeared to be the result of some degen-
erative process.

We have not thought it necessary to give in detail the differ-
ent examinations, as tlie appearances were in all the same. No
disease was supposed to exist in a majority of the animals
slaughtered.

Quite a number of animals were found in this herd with
diseased lungs, and a healthy pleura, but not one with disease
of the pleura without disease of the lungs. Several of the
diseased animals that were killed, it was said, had never
appeared ill.

There have been tliree animals killed at East Lexington
showing no disease save a slight adhesion of the ])ericardiuni to
the heart, no larger than the finger nail, which is of no conse-
quence.

One animal was killed at Princeton belonging to Justin Eames,
of Milford. The neighborhood being alarmed, the animal was
sacrificed to appease their fright, and found sound.

One cow was killed belonging to John T. Abbott, of ITolden,
for a like cause, with a like result. More of this Abbott cow
hereafter.

SECRETARY'S REPORT.

69

Twenty-two animals * have been killed in North Brookfield
that had been directly or indirectly exposed to the " big team,"
as was supposed, and every one carefully examined, without
a trace of -disease, old or recent, being discovered.
There have been killed since the extra session —

In Mr. Chenery's herd, 21

Atfected with old disease, . . . .12

Leaving well, . . . . . . . — 9

At Lexington, and found sound, 3

At Princeton, " " 1

At Holden, u .c 1

At N. Brookfield, » " 22

At N. Brookfield, ex. by Dr. Tyler, evidence uncertain, 1

Killed, healthy.
Killed, diseased.

37

.12

49
Five of the diseased animals in Mr. Chenery's herd were
killed by the particular request and at the expense of the Medi-
cal Board. Three more are retained by them for future inves-
tigation, and three were slaughtered and examined post mortem,
by the Cattle Commissioners, previous to the extra session.
No records of post mortem.

The original herd numbered ..... 67

Mr. Chenery now has "alive, ..... 13

Killed by Cattle Commissioners before extra session, 3

Killed by Cattle Commissioners since extra session, 16

Killed by Medical Board, 5

Retained by Medical Board for future investigation, 3

Died, 27—67

Of this herd there died diseased, .... 27
Killed before extra session, and no doubt diseased, . 3
Retained for future investigation, probably diseased, 3
Killed, diseased, . . . . . . .12

Killed, well, 9

Owned by Mr. Chenery now, ..... 13 — 67

* Thirteen of these were examined and pronounced badly diseased, con-
demned, prized, and paid for before the extra session, and were retained to
see what would be their fate.
9*

70 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Basing our calculations on these tables, presuming that seven
out of the thirteen animals, now owned by Mr. Chenery, are
diseased, and we have out of the 67 head in this herd, never
diseased or entirely recovered, 16 ; diseased, 51.

Of the following herds known to be diseased, we have : —

Mr. Chenery's herd, . . . .67 head — Died, 27

Leonard Stoddard's herd, ... 48 " " 13

Alden Olmstead's herd, . . .23 " " 7

C. P. Huntington's herd, ... 22 " " 8

A. A. Needham's herd, ... 22 " " 8

Alden B. Woodis's herd, ... 21 " " 4

203 head— Died, 57

A trifle short of thirty per cent., and it is to be presumed that
as great a per «ent. would have died in the others as in Mr.
Chenery's herd, had they been left unslaughtered. These
herds constitute, it is believed, all, where any deaths have
occurred from this disease, except perhaps in one or two isolated
cases. There are the herds of Silas H. Bigelow, Lewis E. Ilill,
and D. W. Hooker, that probably had the disease ; but it is not
very well described. The herds of James Hunter, Roland F.
Doane, James C. Ayres, and B. W. Deane were sufficiently well
described to render them strongly suspected. Tliese suspected
herds were exposed later in the season than those where
animals have died.

CONTAGION.

We shall divide pleuro-pneumonia into three kinds — sporadic,
epizootic, and contagious.

A sporadic disease is one in which the cases are siiigle or
scattered. An epizootic disease is one which seizes upon a
great number of animals at the same time, or in the same
season, owing to some external influence, which we cannot
understand.

A contagious disease is one which may be communicated by
one animal to another, and we shall use the term in its broadest
sense, without attempting to make any distinction between
contagious and infectious.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 71

The Board of Medical Examiners have been unable to find
any absolute marks by which the pathological appearances of
one kind of pleuro-pneumonia can be distinguished from
another.

If there is induration of the lung, effusion of lymph and
serum, pus, and a detached portion of the lung enclosed in a
cyst passing to tlie caseous state, it is difficult to see how from
this we can tell whether the cause is sporadic, epizootic, or
contagious.

But we can tell whether it belongs to the same species of
disease, and sliould we find the kidneys affected and not the
lungs, it would be a fair presumption that the diseases did not
belong to the same family, and that probably they were not
related.

Then from what data can we judge whether tliis be a spo-
radic, epizootic, or contagious disease ? By its history, and then
proving by a careful comparison of its pathological appearances,
that the different herds were affected by the same disease.

We find that on the first of June, 1869, four sick cows arrived
from Rotterdam, where the disease is said to prevail. These
were so ill that it was necessary to carry them on trucks to
the farm of W. W. Chenery, of Belmont, where they were
introduced into his herd of healthy cattle.

Three of these Dutch cows afterwards died. Then the origi-
nal herd began to show signs of disease, and one animal after
another was attacked, and by January, twenty-seven out of
sixty-seven had died, leaving a very large proportion of the
others diseased.

About the first of July, three half-breed Dutch calves from
Mr. Chenery's farm, started for North Brookfield. One of
them was introduced, sick, into Leonard Stoddard's barn, and
after lingering three or four weeks, it died, having mingled
four days freely with Leonard Stoddard's herd, when it was
taken back to Curtis Stoddard's. In twenty-eight days after
the entrance of this calf into Leonard Stoddard's healthy
herd, a cow was attacked, and in a few days died. Other
cases followed each other in rapid succession, imtil thirteen
out of forty-eight died previous to April 11th, 1860.

Then Leonard Stoddard sold a pair of oxen to Alden 01m-
stead on the 28th of November, (these oxen were afterwards

72 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

killed and found diseased,) and they were kept five days in Mr.
Olmstead's herd. Two weeks after these oxen left, one of
Olmstcad's cows was attacked, and in two or three weeks died.
Others followed her until seven out of twenty-two died before
April 11, 1860.

A. A. Ncedham, of New Braintree, took three animals from
Stoddard's diseased, into his healthy herd, on January 3d, 1860.
The cow from Stoddard's being sick, was returned as unsound,
and soon died.

Twenty-seven days after the arrival of this cow in Needham's
herd, one animal was taken sick, and soon others, till eight out
of twenty-two died, and many more probably would have met
with the same fate had not the herd been slaughtered in April,
1860.

C. P. Huntington bought a cow of Stoddard and took her
home, where she soon died. Ten days after, another animal
was attacked, and before April 11, 1860, eight out of twenty-
two died.

Aldcn B. "Woodis kept in his healthy herd a pair of sick oxen
belonging to Leonard Stoddard. In three weeks Woodis'
cattle began to show signs of disease, and he lost four out of
twenty-one head before April 11, 1860. Not a herd escaped
where one of Leonard Stoddard's sick cattle was introduced.
No fatal case of disease occurred in any herd in this vicinity
except in tliose into which diseased cattle from Leonard Stod-
dard's herd had been introduced. This certainly seems very
strong evidence in favor of contagion, and the exemption of
many animals is only analogous to what we see in connection
with all acknowledged contagious diseases.

The only case that appears like an exception to every herd
having the disease, after receiving a sick animal from Leonard
Stoddard, is that of Curtis Stoddard. We have previously
stated that the evidence of the communication of the disease to
Curtis Stoddard's herd is inconclusive. But it must be remem-
bered that seven head of this herd were placed, on November
2d, 1859, in Leonard Stoddard's herd, Avith which they were
slaughtered in April, 1860. This herd was exposed by con-
stantly passing the sick calf which was in a pen by a passage-
way through which the cows went to be milked. It was there-
fore fair to infer, that as exposure of the herds to sick cattle

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 73

had in every other instance been followed by disease, such
would be the case here. The course of the Cattle Commission-
ers was therefore clear. They struck at every root and branch
of this suspected herd, intending to annihilate all its connec-
tions, and following it up with perseverance and success till
their money and time were exhausted, before the extra session.

Since then, new facts have given to the case a different
aspect. We find two of these suspected animals left without
any apparent harm. And we also find alive and well a herd
of fifty-three head (Moses Pollard's, of New Braintree) in
which one of these suspected animals was kept from November
to May, when it was killed and " pronounced," but not describ-
ed as diseased by Dr. Dadd.

One examined by Dr. Martin and found free from disease at
Benjamin Cummings' left no known taint in his herd of ten
or twelve head, every animal of which is now alive and well.
The one sold to Shay is rioiv alive and considered well. The
one that passed through Tucker and Richards to Bowen and
"pronounced" diseased but not described so, is a little more
suspicious. The other was kept by Tucker himself in his own
herd of fifteen head, which is now apparently well, save sueli
animals as have been killed for beef and reported " all right."
The Stoddard animal is now fattening for beef and is soon to
be slaughtered for that purpose. Of the three animals that
went to Osborn Whiting's, one was "pronounced" but not
proved to be diseased. The one that went to Murphy's, Dadd
says "proved" to be diseased, but he does not give the
proof.

Thus ends, we hope, the disease in this direction. It may be
asked, why did not Curtis Stoddard's herd like his father's take
the disease from the sick calf? We will not undertake to
explain this as such instances may be found in connection with
the most undoubted contagious diseases. It is possible that two
or three animals did take it, and were among the seven that
went into and were slaughtered with Leonard Stoddard's herd.

" The Big' Team:'
On the 19th of December, 1859, there assembled together
forty-eight head of oxen to move a building, and six head more
were in the immediate vicinity to be called upon if needed.

74 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

In that team were two oxen formerly owned by Leonard Stoddard
wliich had been exposed till November 28th to his diseased herd.
These two oxen had entered Olmstead's herd, which they were
firmly believed to have contaminated, during a stay of five
days before, December 3d. Sixteen days after leaving Olm-
stead's herd, this yoke of oxen communicated freely with the
" big team." They were killed, examined and found badly
diseased in April or May.

Two stags taken in exchange for these two oxen on December
3d, were in Olmstead's herd till Dec. 19th, and were worked
ill the " big team." Many of Olmstead's herd had died ; many
were slaughtered and examined post mortem and found dis-
eased, among which were these stags.

At the time of the general slaughter there were six

herds known to have the disease, consisting of . 223 head.
Curtis Stoddard's herd known to have been exposed

to a diseased animal, . . . . . 19 "

The big team known to have been exposed to a pair

of diseased oxen, 44 "

This big team had exposed as was supposed, some 380 "
Curtis Stoddard's herd had as was supposed,

exposed some 200 "

Making of primary and secondary exposures, . 866 "
Saying nothing of the tertiary ones.

These were the facts upon which the Cattle Commissioners,
were obliged to act, having no powers but " extirpation."

It matters not what is known" now, that is what was known
then. They acted accordingly, and caused to be slaughtered
forty-four oxen, and fifteen herds, (between 300 and 400 head)
of cattle.

The evidence fails to convince us that a single ox took the
disease while in the " big team." There is not a single well
described case of disease among all those oxen, except such as
were, or had been in diseased herds, or had had some other
connection with diseased animals than in that " team." The
Medical Board have examined four of those animals post mortem,
and found them entirely sound, though some of them were "pro-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 75

noimced" diseased while living. Another was killed for beef
and reported well. The same Board have examined post
mortem, seventeen other animals exposed directly and indirectly
to oxen in the " big team," and many had been " pronounced "
diseased, but every one was sound. These oxen were ex])osed
on December 19th, 1859, and according to the appearances found
in Leonard Stoddard's herd and others, the disease if it existed
should have been in the advanced stage, consequently well
marked and of course easily described. There was sufficient
time also to have communicated the disease to others before
the slaughtering. Therefore if there had been any disease, we
should have been likely to have found it well described, and
there would probably have been many deaths. We can see no
good reason why forty-eight head of oxen should have been
exposed and many " pronounced " diseased without a single
death or evidence of communication to other cattle, when the
disease at the same time in the same neighborhood with less
exposure was carrying off some twenty-five per cent, by death.

It may very pertinently and properly be asked why, if these
Doane oxen gave the disease to Olmstead's herd, they did not
communicate it to the " big team" ? It will be borne in mind
that they entered Olm&tead's herd twenty-one days previous to
their appearance in the " big team," and if they gave it to
Olmstead's herd, this must have taken place more than sixteen
days before working in the team because they then left Olm-
stead's. But other circumstances are still stronger against
their giving it to the " big team." Five days from the time they
first entered Olmstead's herd, they left and went into Doane's
herd of ten head on the 3d of December, and there remained
until the general slaughter, and not one of Doane's animals was
sick or died. In corroboration of what has been said, we will
state that these oxen were killed in Doane's herd, and the
disease was accurately described.

A cow was killed that showed hypertrophy and thickened
tissue ; a case of pure pneumonia. The Board have been
shown thickened tissue, or what was in other animals i)ro-
nounced thickened tissue, but could see no disease in it.

The stags were in Olmstead's diseased herd. " Two weeks
after these oxen left Olmstead's herd, one of his (Olmstead's)
animals commenced coughing," &c. This was two days before

76 . BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

the formation of the "big team." Tlicse stags could not have
had much time for contracting this disease, as they must liave
waited till one of Olmstead's animals had gone through the
incubating period. Two days for incubation and propagation
beats the Pepperell cow by four days ! This seems to be
sufficient reason for believing that the stags did not give the
disease to the " big team." Tlius we hope we have found the
end of the disease in this direction.

Warren S. "Wood's herd in South Brookfield, consisted of ten
head. A pair of healthy steers was bought of a Mr. Smith of
West Brookfield, April 4th, and with the exception of a slight
cough, were well. A cow was killed and examined by Dr.
Dadd, May 14th, and the lung " pronounced" " hepatized and
generally diseased." All the herd are well now, save those
killed, (this and the Pepperell cow,) and have never been ill.
The " Pepperell" cow was of this herd, stood thirty feet from
these steers, separated by a plank partition. This cow left for
Pepperell on the morning of the 10th, five days and a half
after exposure to the steers, this being the only exposure
claimed. She stopped at Holden and Lancaster, where it was
supposed she had given the disease. She was killed and said
to have had " the disease," but we have been unable, after
diligent search to get the records of this case.

The evidence fails to convince us that this herd had the
disease, because there was given no description of the appear-
ances noticed in the cow killed by Dr. Dadd on May 14th,
because neither the steers nor any other animal in the herd
was ever sick, although the time for the development of the
disease and the destruction of many animals had been ample.
Of course, if the herd did not have the disease the Pepperell
cow did not have it.

The evidence fails to convince us that the Pepperell cow
carried the disease to and gave it in Holden, for if Wood's herd
had it, six days would be rather a short time in which to con-
tract and communicate it. Tlie Dike cow which was said to
have taken it of the Pepperell cow failed to give it to Abbot's
cow as proved by a post mortem examination by Dr. Martin.
Lyman Rice's oxen and Luther Stearns' cow that were exposed
to Dike's cow, are alive and well now.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 77

We think the evidence that Mr. Cheucry's oxen gave the
disease in East Lexington, and that it passed from that place
to New Hampshire is defective in several particulars. First,
Mr. Chenery's oxen had been well ever since the November
previous. Second, the records of the post mortem made at
Lexington before the extra session do not describe the disease.
Third, wc do not, since the panic, hear of any disease in New
Hampshire, where it was said to have been carried by some
young cattle from Mr. Wellington's barn. Fourth, it is quite
uncertain whether the young animals that went to New Hamp-
shire were in tlie barn with the Chencry oxen at all. Fifth,
three cows most exposed were killed July 10th, examined by
Dr. Martin and found well.

We are not convinced merely because an animal has been
"pronounced" diseased by any medical gentleman, or because
they said they found certain things, unless the things mentioned
were accurately and carefully described. And we fear it would
have been very unfortunate for the Commonwealth to have
acted much farther on such evidence as the following cases
will show.

Mahony had an animal killed, which the records say showed
decided pleuro-pneumonia. The herd, consisting of seven head,
is now aliv^and well.

Sullivan Convers had an animal killed. " Right lung slightly
diseased ; red hepatization." The herd, of forty-two head is
now alive and well.

Adolphus Hamilton had a heifer killed which was "pro-
nounced" diseased. The herd of twenty-six head is now alive
and well.

There was killed at the poor-farm in New Braintree an animal
which " clearly showed pneumonia in the right lung in the
early stage." The herd of sixteen head is now alive and well.

Two animals were killed, belonging to Josiah P. Gleason,
of New Braintree. " The lungs of one were reported hyper-
trophied, especially the right ; red hepatization appearing
somewhat." In the other, both lungs were pronounced " dis-
eased in the early stage." The herd of thirty-five head is now
alive and well.

10*

78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

All animal belonging to Peter Paranteau was killed and
" pronounced much diseased." Those which were spared, six
ill iiiunl)cr, are now alive and well.

A cow belonging to Warren S. Wood, of Brookfield, was
killed, and "hepatization and general disease" found. The
herd of ten head is alive and well now.

An animal belonging to Moses Pollard, of New Braintree,
was killed and " pronounced diseased." The herd of fifty-
three head is alive and well now.

In these eight herds therefore, left unslaughtered, there are
alive and well now, 195 head. In every herd was found an
animal 'reported diseased, as will be seen by the records quoted
verbatim.

There were from twenty to thirty herds slaughtered, an animal
in each having j)reviously been killed and pronounced diseased
by the medical and veterinary gentlemen employed at the time.
The appearances, according to the records, were of the same
general character as those found in the eight herds left un-
slaughtered.

So far, therefore, as the post mortem appearances are con-
cerned, we have good reason to suppose that if these twenty
to thirty herds, containing more than 400 head of cattle had
been spared, they would all have Ijecn alive an^ well now ;
for we luive already seen, that other herds, equally suspicious,
never showed any sign of disease.

Inasmuch as no instance of severe disease or a single death
has occurred outside of some eight or ten herds, we are irre-
sistibly forced to the conclusion that the disease was limited
to these herds.

Mr. Chenery says that fifty or sixty head of cattle were kept
in the pastures adjoining his during the season of 1859, when
tlie mortality was greatest among his animals, and yet none took
the disease. But he also says that his sick animals were usually
kept in the barn, and when let out rarely Aveiit far from the
barn door.

This being the last fact in our possession against contagion,
we will recapitulate the evidence on this side.

1. Tlicre is no clear evidence that any of Curtis Stoddard's
animals took the disease of the sick Chenery calf.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 79

2. There is no evidence that W. F. Doane's herd, or the
^' big team" took tlie disease from the Stoddard oxen which, it
is claimed, gave it to Olmstead's herd.

3. Many lierds were exposed to animals that had been killed
and "pronounced" diseased. Eight of these herds containing
195 liead, are alive and well now. And a great number of
lierds killed never had shown any signs of disease, but were
disposed of because animals found among them had been pro-
nounced diseased.

4. Mr. Chenery's herd were in a pasture adjoining others in
which were fifty or sixty head, of cattle belonging to his neigh-
bors, but none were ill. This is the whole of the non-contagious
evidence.

The evidence in favor of contagion, recapitulated, is, that
four cows from Holland were taken to Mr. Chenery's farm on
the first of June. Two of them were sick and died in a very
short time. A third soon followed. About the first of July,
the calf sold to Stoddard appeared sick, and died about the first
of August. Near the first of August a cow called Lady Louise
sickened and died ; then one animal after another died till the
January following, at which time there had been twenty-seven
deaths, in this heretofore healthy herd.

The disease is now carried from Belmont to North Brookfield
not by the air, but on the railroad, by the calf sold to Stoddard.
This calf is kept with Stoddard's herd during four or five days
of its sickness. In twenty-four days after it leaves the herd,
one of Stoddard's animals is sick; others afterward sickened
and died till he lost thirteen. Then the disease sparing several
lierds in the neighborhood of Stoddard's, attacked a herd in
which from Leonard Stoddard's were sold a pair of oxen, after-
wards examined and found diseased.

At Olmstead's where the animals remained five days, nine-
teen days after, one of Olmstead's cows was taken sick and in
rapid succession one after another sickened and died, till,
between the time of exposure on December 1st, and April 11th,
seven out of twenty-two head had died.

Then the disease is carried two miles by a sick cow from
Stoddard's, skipping over several farms and herds, to Needham's.
Twenty-one days after this aiiimal's arrival in Needham's herd.

80 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

•

one of the latter's cattle sickened, and afterwards others, till
eight out of twenty-two died, and many more were sick.

Tlicn the disease makes its appearance in Alden 13. Woodis'
barn with a yoke of sick oxen from Stoddard's, kept there for
Stoddard to haul lumber. In twenty-one days one of Woodis'
animals is attacked, and then others, till many -were sick and
four died, in the space of two months.

Then the disease appears in C. P. Huntington's herd, in an
opposite direction and over several other herds, in a cow from
Stoddard's, which soon died. In thirty-six days after tlie illness
of the Stoddard cow, one of Huntington's was attacked, and
afterwards others, till eiglit died in quick succession.

Here ends the history of the six herds, about the disease of
which no one doubts. The time between the exposure and the
appearance of the disease in a healthy herd corresponds in all
the herds, as nearly as in most any other contagious diseases.
The post mortem examinations show conclusively that it is the
same disease, affecting the same organs in the same general
way. No herd in the neighborhood, or in any other part of the
Commonwealth, as far as is known, has been invaded by a
disease, which affected almost every animal and destroyed nearly
30 per cent., unless they have been exposed to animals whose
disease can be traced in a direct line to the Holland cows. By
slauglitering these diseased herds, its extension was at once
prevented.

After w^cighing carefully all the evidence that can be obtained,
we are forced to conclude that this is a contagious disease, and
all legislation should be based upon that understanding until
future developments show the contrary.

1st. The fact, that Mr. Curtis Stoddard's cattle did not take
the disease, or those that did not go into his father's herd, (of
them we can tell nothing,) may perliaps be accounted for by
the calf standing beside a passage, the two ends of which had
two large doors, large enough for a cart and oxen to pass
through, which doors usually were left open in the summer.

2d. Why the "big team" and Wm. F. Doane's herd did not
take it of the Stoddard oxen, can be accounted for only by
believing that tliese oxen had probably passed the propagating
period. If it be asked why its contagious property was not
shown in many herds pronounced diseased, we can only answer,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 81

that tlic evidence fails to convince us that these specimen
animals were diseased. If it be urged still further that fifty or
sixty animals surrounding Mr. Chenery's farm escaped, it must
be remembered that his cattle were usually kept isolated in the
barn, and when let out remained near it. His farm is on the
top of a high hill, over which a strong breeze usually sweeps,
and the farms surrounding are on a lower level.

INCUBATION.

Basing our calculations upon facts derived from herds where

the disease undoubtedly existed, we arrive at the following
conclusions, in regard to the time of incubation : —

W. W. Chenery's herd (Stoddard calf,) . . 29 days.

Leonard Stoddard's herd, 28 "

Alden Olmstcad's " 10 "

A. A. Needham's " 27 "

C. P. Huntington's " 36 "

Alden B. Woodis' " 21 "

Divided by ... . 6) 160 days.

Average time of incubation in these six herds, 20f days.

In the case of the Chenery calf, we have allowed the longest
possible time after exposure. And the same rule was adopted
in reference to the cases of Leonard Stoddard, A. A. Needham,
and Alden Olmstead.

In the cases of C. P. Huntington and Alden B. Woodis, the
longest reasonable time after exposure was allowed.

In the first four cases the time of incubation could not have
been over that stated ; in the two last it was reckoned from the
time when the new-coming animal began to show signs of
sickness.

The Chenery Stoddard calf showed the first signs of sickness
29 days after the arrival of the Holland cows at the farm.

Leonard Stoddard's first cow was attacked 28 days after the
introduction of the sick calf into his herd.

Alden Olmstead's first case occurred 19 days after the
entrance of the sick oxen into his herd.

A. A. Needham's first animal was taken sick in 27 days after
the sick Stoddard cow entered his herd.

82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The four cases making an entire period of 103 days, which,
divided by four, gives 25| days as the average time of incubation.

The time of incubation could not have averaged more than
25 days — l)ut it miglit liave been less, as an animal might not
take tiie disease during the first few days of exposure. The
Olmstead cattle must have contracted the disease 14 days
before the first sickness appeared in this herd, inasmuch as the
diseased oxen were removed 14 days before any animal belong-
ing to it was sick. The probable time of incubation is from
two to three weeks.

The evidence we have in regard to contagion and incubation,
although limited, is perhaps more to be relied upon than that
in Europe, where the disease has so extensively prevailed, that
there would be more chances for unknown exposures.

PROPAGATION.

The mode of propagation is very uncertain. Whether the
disease is produced by infection from the saliva, by bringing
noses in contact, or by the breath, secretions from the skin
or excretions of the body, is quite far from being finally settled.
It is difficult to say how long an animal may continue to com-
municate the disease ; if he has not done so, it does not follow
that he cannot.

Tlie Doane oxen, that gave the disease to Olmstead's herd,
could not have boon exposed much before August 1st. They
went into William F. Doane's herd on December 3d, and did
not give the disease. Therefore months cover the time of
incubation and propagation. But these oxen were never off
their feed, and did not appear much sick at any time. And
had they not given the disease to Olmstead's herd, and been
examined post mortem, they might never have been consid-
ered ill.

Chenery's oxen were ill and apparently recovered, in Novem-
ber, 1859. In April, 1860, they stood near three cows in the
barn in East Lexington, at Mr. Wellington's, while some hay
was being loaded. These three cows were afterwards killed
and found sound, July the 11th following.

Here is all the evidence that we have in regard to the length
of time during which an animal can give the disease. It may
be taken for what it is worth.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 83

Eight weeks, it would seem, ought to cover its period of incu-
bation and propagation. Twelve Aveeks would probably be safer
to act upon. But not being informed upon the subject, we
cannot give a positive opinion. There is but one case, (as far as
we have read,) on record, foreign or domestic, in which it was
communicated during convalescence, and here the animal
drooled, and did not appear entirely Avell.

THE SYMPTOMS.

The symptoms of the disease are such as we meet in pleuro-
pneumonia in general. Hair rough and staring, frequent shiv-
ering, cough, grunting, and other indications of pain, quick
I)ulsc, sometimes drooling, and more or less dyspnea, accord-
ing to the extent of the disease and the existence of effusion in
the pleural cavities. Death seems to be produced, not so much
by the nature as the extent of the disease. Every animal, as
far as we can learn, that has died, or was so near death as to be
killed to prevent hopeless suffering, had disease of both lungs,
and serum in both chests. In the late stages of the disease
some of the animals had a copious watery diarrhoBa ; others, we
have been informed, were constipated. But it must be borne
in mind that some animals whose lungs are quite extensively
affected, give it to others without ever appearing ill themselves.
That was the case with the cow Princess, in Mr. Chenery's
herd. The cow Victoria had breathed badly, and showed
other signs of ill-health. She was slaughtered October 16, 1860,
and examined by Drs. Martin, Ellis, and Stickney.

In the right side of the chest were two enlarged glands ; both
were filled with yellow caseous matter. The right lung con-
tained many small nodules, composed of the same yellow case-
ous material. The posterior lobe of the left lung contained a
similar mass as large as two fists, and others of smaller size.
It was supposed that this animal had never been exposed to the
disease, as she had only come in contact with a healthy bull at
the farm. But on inquiry, we learned that the cow Princess,
as she appeared well, had been taken down to Mr. Chenery's
home barn, and had stood for a long time beside Victoria.
This cow Princess had shown no signs of illness, except a slight
cough. To throw light on the subject, she was killed and
examined by Drs. Martin, Ellis, and Stickney, October 16, 1860.

84 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The right lung adhered to the four anterior ribs, i)ut showed
no disease. Tiie left lung contained one yellow caseous mass
as large as the fist, and a large number of smaller ones which
occupied the greater part of the posterior lobe.

The oxen that were supposed to have given the disease to
Olmstead's herd were never ill, but the post mortem examina-
tion shows they were very much diseased. These, with quite a
number more killed in Mr. Chenery's herd, show that animals
may have quite extensive local disease, without any general
symptoms of ill-health, as many persons have the measles and
smallpox without losing their appetites, or being otherwise indis-
posed. But the local trouble in pleuro-pneumonia is internal,
and would be perhaps overlooked. Hence any action based
upon the apparent good health of an animal in a sick herd,
might become very dangerous to the interests of the Common-
wealth. And we will add here that very important facts have
been ascertained, by killing from time to time, animals belong-
ing to the Chenery herd. The cattle attacked usually die in
two or three weeks, or begin to improve where recovery is to
take place.

THE TREATMENT.

Of course, if the disease is contagious, as we think it is, no
one will expect to cut it short. "We do not talk of curing a
case of smallpox or measles. But most physicians think they
can do much to make their patients comfortable, to prevent
various complications, and thus contribute to the safety of
many. So in this disease, every thing that can be done to
soothe the feelings of the animals, to sustain their strength, to
remove costiveness, or to prevent diarrhoea, will do much to
lessen the average fatality. But if the function of both lungs
is destroyed by induration, there is of course no chance for
recovery.

When one side of the chest is sound and the other so filled
with serum that the function of one lung is suspended, and that
of the other essentially interfered with, the animal could, in all
probability, be saved, if the fluid could be withdrawn by a
judicious practitioner. We here beg to protest against indis-
criminate medication. It is much saftcr to trust to nature
than to uncertain remedies.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 85

AVERAGE FATALITY.

But one herd has been left to run through the disease before
slaughtering, and of course the results are not so satisfactory as
if they were based upon observations on many herds. But
such as we have we give.

Mr. Chencry's lierd ran through the acute stage of the dis-
ease pretty much unmolested, and 27 animals died out of 67 ;
about forty per cent.

There were probably diseased 51 out of 67 — a trifle more
than seventy-five per cent., or 3 out of 4 animals.

The relative value of the animals in herds affected, that do

not die.

The tendency to entirely recover is less than was supposed
by the senior member of this Board. Whether the nine ani-
mals found free from disease, after slaughter, in Mr. Chenery's
herd, were sick and had entirely recovered, or had never had
the disease, it is impossible for us to say. But so far as we
could judge from what we saw, the tendency to a removal of
the diseased substance is very slight, and it is fair to presume
that if the parent's constitution is injured by this or any other
disease, a like constitution may be transmitted to the offspring.
Their value as breeders would, therefore, be much diminished,
but, — as the following statements show, — they may be used for
beef without danger, and the milk is harmless.

According to Delafond, when animals affected with acute or
sub-acute pleuro-pneumonia are slaughtered in a proper man_
ner, their flesh is found to be of a beautiful red color, firm
without effusion, either bloody or serous. It makes a good
broth and the boiled meat is savory and digestible. If roasted,
there is no more serosity or juice than from the meat of a
healthy animal. If salted, it takes the salt well and is well
preserved. J. B. Huzard states that in 1789, when the disease
was most fatal, the flesh of animals attacked by the disease
was eaten with impunity. Many other authors, among whom
are Bcnoist, Hanemann, Bojarus, Dieterichs, Hoffacker,
Wagensfcld and Krheycn admit tliat the meat is not essentially
injurious to man. Delafond himself ate the meat boiled and
r(^j^stcd, and on one occasion made a breakfast of liver takeA
from a cow killed the evening before, and was not at all afifected
11*

86 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

by it. Several others did the same thing without the slightest
inconvenience. Daily, at Paris and elsewlicre, animals attacked
by the disease are killed at the slaughter-houses, and the sale
of the meat is authorized (1844,) as basse viande.

The writer, notwithstanding, thinks that the sale of such
meat sliould be under strict control, as great abuse might other-
wise arise. It would certainly be wrong to authorize the sale
of meat from a sick animal, but there is no reason to believe
that injury would result from using as food the flesh of those
which had recovered^ or had been simply exposed.

Altliough it is not probable that the disease can be communi-
cated by the dung, Delafond thinks it prudent to allow it to
remain in a secure place sometime before using it.

The milk has never been known to produce disease.

PREVENTION.

The subject of inoculation has been much discussed and
appears to be very properly treated in the following extracts : —

Professor Simonds and Morton of London, were appointed in
July, 1852, by the English government to pass over to the Con-
tinent and report upon the results of inoculation. During the
latter part of September, 1852, they were guests of M. Willems.

The result of the report of " Dr. C. Ulrich, Veterinarian of
the Circle of Urietzen Sur POdcr, Professor at the Royal Acad-
emy of Mfcglin," is ratlicr unsatisfactory. lie mentions, how-
ever, one case where 101 head were inoculated and cured by
Dr. Desaire ; 30 lost the whole or part of their tails ; and he
further remarks, " that the loss of the tail has been in the ratio
of 3 out of 11 ; 10 out of 22 ; 12 out of 50 ; 13 out of 51 ;
and ill one case, even all of 13 inoculated."

Prof. Simonds gives the following conclusions : —

1st. That inoculation made by superficial punctures and simple
erasions of the skin, invariably fail to produce any local inflammatory
action, being the reverse of the case with regard to vaccine disease?
small[)0x and other specific affections, of which it is an indication of
success. •

2d. That the employment of fresh, serous, and cleanly made, but
small incisions, during the continuance of a low temperature, will also,
almost always, fail to })roduee even the slightest amount of intiammat^n-

3d. The deep punctures are followed by the ordinary phenomena
only of such wounds, when containing some slightly irritating agent.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 87

4th. That with a high temperature, roughly made incisions, and
serous fluid a few days old, local ulceration and gangrene, producing
occasionally the death of the patient, will follow inoculation.

5th. That the sero-jnirulent matter taken from an inoculated sore,
causes more speedy action than the serum obtained from a diseased lung,
and that " ronoves " cannot be effected on scientific principles.

Gth. That oxen are not only susceptible to the action of a second, but
of repeated inoculations with the serous exudation of a diseased lung.

7th. That an animal inoculated with the serous exudation is in no
way protected, even from ^/se repeated action of the sei'o-purulent fluid
which is produced in the wound as a r^ult of the operation.

8th. That animals not naturally the subject of pleuro-pneumonia,
such as donkeys, dogs, &c., are susceptible of the local action, both of
the serous exudation from the lung and the sei'o-purulent matter
obtained from the inoculated wounds.

9th. That the serous fluid exuded from the lungs is not a specific
" virus," or " lymph," as it is sometimes designated.

10th. That inoculations made with medicinal irritating agents will be
followed by similar phenomena to those observed in inoculations with the
exuded serum.

11th. That inoculation often acts as a simple issue, and that the
security which at times the operation apparently affords, depends in part
upon this, but principally on the unknown causes which regulate the
outbreak, spread and cessation of epidemic diseases.

12th. That inoculation of cattle, as advocated and practiced by Dr.
Willems and others, is not founded on any known basis of science or
ascertained law, with regard to the propagation of those diseases com-
monly called specific.

13th. That pleuro-pneumonia occurs at various periods of time after
a so-called successful inoculation.

14th. And lastly, that the severity of pleuro-pneumonia is in no way
mitigated by inoculation, the disease proving equally rapid in its progress
and fatal in an inoculated as in an «/iinoculated animal.

We will also refer to the General Resum^ of the Report of
the Scientific Commission (Veterinarian, vol. 27, pp. 339-3-13,)
and give their conclusions respecting inoculation, viz. : —

1st. Inoculation with the liquid extracted from the lungs of an animal
laboring under peripneumonia, does not convey to others in health, of
the same species, any disease, at least in its seat, similar to that from
which the inoculating fluid was taken.

2d. The appreciable phenomena, following inoculation, are those of
a local inflammation, light and confined to the place of inoculation, in a
certain number of inoculated subjects. Grave and diftuse, accompa-

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

nied by a general reaction, proportioned to the intensity of the local action,
and complicated with gangrenous accidents which may cause the death of
others.

Ill tlic experiment made by the Committee, inoculation has
proved benignant in its effects, in Gl out of a 100 of the inoc-
ulated subjects ; grave and complicated with gangrenous acci-
dents, in 38 ; mortal, in 11 ; 88 subjects out of a 100 have
consequently recovered their health after inoculation — 61 with-
out presenting any traces of the operation they had undergone,
and 27 with exterior local lesions, more or less extensive and
marked, according to the intensity of the gangrenous affection
to which inoculation had given birth.

3d. Inoculation w ith fluid taken from the lungs of animals suffering
under p^rii)nuenionia 2Jossesses a p?'cse7-va(ive virtue — it invests the
organism of the greatest number of animals on whom it is practiced
with an immunity which protects them against the contagion of the
disease for a period of time remaining to be determined, but which the
experiments detailed above do not show to be less than six months.

The following table presents to the eye the calculated results
afforded by the two sets of experiments on inoculation and
cohabitation instituted by the Committee : —

COHABITATION.

INOCXXATIOX.

Number of subjects of experi-

Number of subjects of experi-

ment beincc supposed to be .

109.

ment beinu supposed to be .

109.

Cohabitation will be iiil in its

The inoeulation would be ben-

cITect, or very benignant for

54.31

eficial for ....

61.11

And more or less hurtful for .

45.05

And more or less hurtful for .

38.88

In this last account the recov-

In this last calculation, the re-

ery will be represented by .

30.95

coveries will be represented

And the deaths by .

8.09

by

27.77

And the deaths by

11.11

As a definite result, the num-

As a definite result, the num-

ber of animals, departing

ber of animals departed from

from the tests of cohabitation

the tests of inoculation with

with their health saved or

their health saved, or recov-

recovered, will amount on

ered, will amount, after this

an average to . . .

91.29

calculation, on an average to

88.88

And the dead to . . .

8.69

And that of the deaths to

11.11

The first fact which strikes us in this table is, that inocula-
tion has occasioned a greater mortality than the disease it was
designed to prevent. Besides we must take into consideration

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 89

that animals who have borne up against the gangrenous results
of inoculation have still lost much of their value after their
cure, in consequence of their health being impaired for a long
time. They are also deformed, by the loss of a part of their
tails ; while on the contrary, cows which under the experiments
of the Committee have contracted peripneumonia and been
cured, have recovered at length very nearly their former value
— the disease leaving no apparent trace behind it, nor having
in any way injured the animal, either for lactation or" fattening.

These being the results of inoculation, we cannot advocate
its adoption. It is evident therefore, that the only effectual
means foF arresting the progress of the disease is to slaughter
every herd in which it esists. But how to tell where it exists
is a much more difficult task. Tlierefore, when an animal
from any suspected region coughs and shows other symptoms
of disease in the chest, it should be separated from its fellows
and the herd should be strictly isolated. If the affected animal
should die, it should be carefully examined, and an accurate
record of the appearances made. Should the disease be one of
the chest, the rest of the herd should be inspected daily, and if
other animals are successively attacked and die, they should be
examined, and if found to be affected with the same malady,
the safest way would be to " extirpate " the herd.

We cannot, therefore, award too much praise to the Commis-
sioners, for the fearless manner in which they have performed
their duty, in spite of the popular clamor, excited by what
appeared to be an unnecessary destruction of animals. To
pause until men agree upon the subject of contagion, would
perhaps establish the disease among us.

Admitting that it is still an open question, let us be prepared
to act on the weight of evidence, and, until the scale turns, extir-
pation should be regarded as the only sure means of prevention.

As the disease prevails in Great Britain and Europe, it is
highly important that Congress should pass quarantine laws to
prevent its re-introduction into this country.

Oramel Martin, M. D.,
• Calvin Ellis, M. D.,

JosiAH H. Stickney, M. D.,

Board of Examiners.

90 BOxVRD OF AGRICULTURE.

At a meeting of the Board of Agriculture lield at the State
House on the elcvcntli of December, 18G0, Mr. Sewall, in
behalf of the Committee appointed to cooperate with the Com-
missioners, submitted the following

REPORT:

The Committee appointed by the Board of Agriculture at
the request of the Commissioners on the Cattle Disease, to
advise witli and assist said Commissioners in the discharge of
their duty, respectfully Report : —

That immediately after their appointment they proceeded to
North Brookficld, in which place and its vicinity, the Commis-
sioners were then prosecuting their work, and advised with
them in relation to an application to His Excellency the Gov-
ernor of the Commonwealth to issue his summons for an extra
session of the legislature, recommending that measure under
the exigencies of the case.

Tliat they subsequently made application to His Excellency
in behalf of said Commissioners, and also by their authority
visited several towns, to which they had been summoned to
investigate cases of disease or of apprehended exposure to it.

That from time to time, as the necessities of the ease demand-
ed, they have been occupied in carrying out the purposes of
their appointment. And tliat of all their doings in connection
with, or in behalf of the Commissioners, a full report has been
transmitted to them to be communicated to the legislature, to
which report they beg leave to refer for more extended infor-
mation of the discharge of their duty.

The Committee having had large opportunity to observe the
course pursued by the Commissioners, take pleasure in express-
ing the conviction, that to the late action of the legislature,
enlarging the powers of the Commissioners and the means at
. their disposal, followed by their own wise and energetic prose-
cution of a work attended with much difficulty and pain, is to
be ascribed the })robablc extermination of an evil of the most
threatening aspect to the interests of agriculture and the com-
mon welfare of the country. The judgment of the Commis-
sioners has been in some quarters disputed, their motives have

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 91

been impeached, their characters maligned ; but we are fully
convinced that the indebtedness of the Commonwealth to the
Commissioners cannot easily be discharged.

For the Committee,

Charles C. Sewall.

The introduction of the disease, alluded to in the preceding
pages, among our neat cattle, has very naturally directed atten-
tion to the raising, management and profits of sheep as com-
pared with other farm stock. The Committee of the Board
appointed to collect information upon that important subject
submitted the following

REPORT

ON SHEEP HUSBANDRY.

The Committee of the State Board of Agriculture, appointed
to collect material and report upon the sheep husbandry of
Massachusetts, issued eight hundred of the following circulars,
which, through the agency of the members of tlie Board, were
distributed through every town in the State.

It is discouraging and mortifying to know, that to these eight
hundred circulars only eleven replies were returned, except
from the county of Franklin, where, by unusual exertion and
continued solicitation, replies were obtained from every town.

To those who did take the pains to make full answers to our
circulars, the Committee are under obligations^. One return
was received from Berkshire ; two from .Martha's Vineyard ;
three from Hampshire ; one from Plymouth ; four from Wor-
cester, and twenty-six from Franklin.

The Committee sent out the following circular : —

Sir, — The Massachusetts " State Board of Agriculture " desires infor-
mation upon the subject of Sheep Husbandry, and proposes the follow-
ing questions to the Farmers of the State.

You would confer a favor and assist the cause of Agriculture, if you
would take the pains to answer the questions, and to make such experi-
ments or inquiries as may enable you to answer them more fully.

You will be kind enough to return your answers in the inclosed en-
velope, on or before November 15th, directed to Charles L. Flint, Sec-
retary of the Board of Agriculture, Boston, Mass., with the name of the
subject or subjects upon which you have answered, indorsed thereon.

92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

1. How many sheep are kept in your town ?

2. How many fine wooled ?

3. How many of eacli different breed are there ?

4. How many sheep have you ?

5. Of what breed are they y

6. How many acres do you pasture to sheep ?

7. How many sheep to the acre do you pasture ?

8. Do sheep in your opinion improve pasture lands?

9. What is tlie cost of summering sheep, including pasturing, wash-
ing, shearing, tarring, salting, &Cc ?

10. How are your sheep housed in winter?

11. How do you feed sheep that arc fattening?

12. How do you feed your store sheep or ewes?

13. At what time do you prefer to have your lambs dropped, and the
reason why ?

14. How do you feed lambs for market?

15. At what age do your lambs go to market?

1 6. "What is the average value of your ewes ?

17. What price do your lambs fetch?

18. AYhat do you estimate the cost of keeping your store sheep or
ewes through the winter?

19. What is the cost of feeding the lambs ?

20. W^hen do you send your fat sheep to market ?

21. What gross sum do they average you?

22. When do you shear your sheep?

23. AVhat is the average weight of your fleeces ?

24. How often do you salt your sheep ?

25. Do you use tar for your sheep and how ?

26. How much manure do you get from any given number of sheep?

27. What is the value of it as compared with the common stable
manure ?

28. Have you suffered from any disease among your sheep ?

29. If so, what is tl»e disease and what is your remedy for each disease ?

30. What is the amount of damage done to sheep in your town by
dogs this year ?

31. Has the destruction of sheep by dogs prevented sheep raising?

32. Can you state to Avhat cxtfnt?

Please state at lengtli any experience of your own which may be of
interest.

J. S. Grennfxl,

s. h. busiinell,

Cyrus Knox,

R. S. Fay,
Boston, March 1, 1859. Committee of the Board.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 93

The subject of sheep husbandry, always one of the greatest
importance to tlie whole farming community, has received such
additional interest and attention at this time, from various
causes, that in the opinion of the members of the Board of
Agriculture, a somewhat extended space should be devoted to
its consideration. In attempting this, not easy task, the mem-
bers of the Committee to whom the examination of this matter
was referred, although all sheep-owners themselves and directly
engaged and interested in it, feel most sensibly their inability
to discharge this duty as it should be done ; they cannot expect
in a community of farms like ours, percolated as it is
through every family by agricultural papers and books, rij)e
with the experience of hundreds of others besides themselves,
to offer any thing original or interesting, to any except those
directly CDncerned. If by a judicious selection and collation
of the opinions of men of large experience in sheep-growing,
whether from replies to their circulars, and othai' communica-
tions, books, or personal experience and information, they can
more directly than has been previously done, bring this subject
to the notice of the farmers of this Commonwealth, and excite
any permanent interest in the breeding, keeping and feeding of
this most useful animal, by encouraging those already engaged
in it, or by stimulating and inducing others to undertake it,
they will feel that their labors are not unavailing.

STATISTICS.

The census statistics and the returns we have received show
some remarkable facts in the sheep husbandry of Massachu-
setts, especially in the rapid decline of wool-growing.

In 1840, the number of sheep was 378,226 ; in 1845, 354,943 ;
in 1850, 188,051 ; in 1855, 145,215 ; in 1860, 113,111— show-
ing the astonishing decrease in twenty years of 265,115 sheep.

In 1845, the number of pounds of wool grown was 1,016,230 ;
in 1855, 416,156 — a loss of over 600,000 pounds.

In 1845, the total value of all the sheep and wool was 8923,420 •
while, in 1855, only ten years later, it was $464,889 — showing
a depreciation of that stock in ten years of nearly half a million
of dollars.

In 1850, the wool produced in the Commonwealth was
585,000 pounds ; the amount consumed, outside of domestic man-

12*

94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

ufactures or household products, was over 22,000,000 pounds.
This fact also appears, that the sheep husbandry of Massa-
chusetts is tending, with a remarkable directness and rapidity,
to the growing of coarse and middle-wooled sheep for their
flesh, and to the exchision of those breeds raised only for their
wool, all over the ^tate, except on the mountain ranges in the
western part, where remoteness from market, and extensive
tracts of rough pasture will still maintain a limited number of
merino flocks. While in 1845, the fine-wooled sheep numbered
about 200,000, or 45,000 more than all others ; in 1855, they
numbered only 72,390, or 435 less than the coarse and middle
wools. "We have no figures for 18G0 to show exactly how the loss
of 32,000 sheep since 1855 is divided, but by taking the same
ratio, and also by a careful examination and comparison of the
returns from the different towns in the State, especially in
Berksliire, formerly the great home of the fine wools, and
which alone §hows a decrease of 22,000 in that time, it is
probable that on the first of May last, the coarse and middle-
wooled sheep exceeded the fine-wooled by full 10,000.

Among the several causes to which these great changes in
sheep husbandry are traceable, are the fluctuations in the price
of fine wool, varying from 54 cents down to 28 cents during
twenty years ; the uncertainty of disposing of the clip ; the
impossibility of competing with the immense sheep-walks of the
West and South, and Australia; the disproportionately increased
expense, trouble and losses in a large flock of fine wools, over
a smaller and more ])rofitable flock of mutton sheep ; the ready
sale and quick returns for mutton and lamb ; and the destruc-
tion of sheep by dogs.

The returns from the various towns state, almost without
exception, that the killing and w^orrying of sheep by dogs have
tended largely to reduce the keeping of sheep ; the testimony
to this was so universal and so decided, that the legislature
two years ago passed a stringent and effective law, — from which
we already perceive benefits, taxing all dogs, and from the fund
so made, paying all losses caused by the destruction of sheep by
dogs. Few persons are aware how^ destructive dogs are to sheep.
We have never had any returns in this State as to the amount
of damage done by dogs ; but in Ohio, in 1858, the number of
sheep thus killed was 60,536 ; of sheep injured 36,441 — total

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 95

damage done to sheep by dogs, 1148,748. The effect of the
present law by imposing a tax upon the animal is to destroy
that class ; and the tax, though small, is quite sufficient to cover
the losses by those which are left ; the provisions of the law are
such, that it is easy of enforcement, and we hope every farmer
in the State will interest himself in seeing that it is executed
in his own neighborhood. The difficulties which beset the cul-
tivator, especially in populous neighborhoods, are quite enough
from trespasses and depredations of various kinds, without being
obliged to watch his flocks by day and by night ; losses of this
nature can only be guarded against by a law of the description
which has recently been enacted. From returns received from
various towns of the Commonwealth, it appears that in 1859
about 33,000 dogs were licensed, paying a tax of over 836,000 ;
it is estimated that nearly an equal number was destroyed by
their owners as not being worth the tax, and that a§ many more
escaped taxation altogether.

By a faithful adherence to this la"^, perhaps this impediment
to sheep-growing may be overcome ; but we hope to see the day,
when no dog, going at large without his master, will be tol-
erated.

The growing of sheep has ever been regarded as a most
profitable branch of farming, producing the largest returns, in
the shortest time, from the smallest investment, and hence sheep
have usually constituted a very considerable portion of the
capital stock invested in the business of farming, and this is
increased by the enlarged facilities for transporting the animals
to market, both on the hoof and in the carcase.

Among the reasons which have served to create a present
current in favor of sheep-growing for their flesh in this State,
is the great uncertainty and frequent loss in feeding cattle ;
such are the present and constantly increasing facilities for the
transportation of cattle from the West, where the cost of raising
is merely nominal, that it is becoming impossible for our farm-
ers to compete with western feeders; and if it were not for the
manure, which fattening cattle leave, and which is almost the
farmers' sole dependance for their coming crops, very few would
attempt to fatten cattle. The demand for wool is now increas-
ing, and the prices more uniform than for many years previous,

96 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

and this particularly applies to the class of middle and coarse
wools, which find a surer and steadier market than fine wools.
The prevalence of the pleuro-pneumonia among the cattle of
this Commonwealth, has in a very marked manner turned the
attention of farmers to sheep raising, as being a safer, as well
as more profitable investment. Whether or not this malignant
and dangerous disease has by the courage and energy of the
Commissioners been extirpated, remains to be determined this
winter, but the alarm which it occasioned, and the fear of its
recurrence, will not soon be forgotten, and will lead many
farmers to stock with sheep rather than cattle.

Perhaps, however, the most satisfactory reason is to be found
in the steady, gradual demand for mutton and lamb in our
markets ; this increase has been in a much greater ratio than
the population, showing that the people of the country, are
coming to appreciate that most excellent of meats.

At Brighton, on the market day previous to Christmas, 1839,
two Franklin County men held four hundred sheep, every one
in the market, and yet so ample was that supply, and so inac-
tive the demand, that they could not raise the market a half
cent a pound, and finally sold with difficulty ; just twenty years
after that at the same place, on the market day previous to
Cliristmas, 1859, five thousand four hundred sheep changed
from the drover to the butclier.

For the production of a cheap, wholesome, and highly nutri-
tious food, no animal excels the sheep ; theoretical consider-
ations as well as careful experiment show mutton to be quite
equal to beef, and superior to pork or other meat in the produc-
tion of vigorous muscle.

Mutton and lamb are favorite, — if not the favorite food of the
English and Scotch of all classes ; notwitlistanding all that has
been said or written of the "roast beef of old England," mutton
according to the best authority is more eaten by people of every
rank. The Scotch laborers arc certainly among the most active,
robust, clear-headed, healthy men we see, and they have no
meat but mutton. The English, the most robust, and healthy-
looking of all people, owe their fine appearance not more to the
humidity of tlicir climate, than to the mutton constituting more
than one-half of their animal food. On the other hand, it cer-
tainly has not been a favorite food in the United States, though

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 97

its proportionable cousumptioii is evidently increasing; the
difference may be largely attributed to circumstance, which has
led to habit and habit regulates the appetite to a great extent.
The circumstances may be partly these; that until within a very
few years we have never had any of the real mutton sheep to eat ;
our old native stock was poor, and the merino infinitely worse ;
the sheep formerly killed were too often old and poor, and the
cheapness of the animals too frequently brought them as food to
those who were compelled to eat them ; farm-laborers, servants,
apprentices, and others, learned to thoroughly dislike mutton,
and many a man and woman so far advanced as to have perliaps
every other recollection of school days wiped from the memory,
still retain in the most lively manner the disgust created by
the inevitable, daily'rautton of the boarding-house; — with them
*' the full soul loatheth the honey-comb."

The experiments of Dr. Beaumont, and other physiologists,
show that mutton is more nutritious, digests more easily and
assimilates more readily to the system, than any other meat we
are in the habit of consuming.

While mutton is regarded as the most nutritious meat, it also
is the most economical to purchase at the usual prices. English
chemists and philosophers by a series of careful experiments,
find that 100 pounds of beef, in boiling, lose 26|^ pounds, in
roasting, 32 pounds, and in baking 80 pounds, by evaporation
and loss of soluble matter, juices, water and fat. Mutton lost
by boiling, 21 pounds, and by roasting, 24 pounds ; or in another
form of statement, a leg of mutton costing raw, 15 cents, would
cost boiled and prepared for the table, 18i- cents per pound ;
boiled fresh beef would at the same price, cost 19^ cents per
pound, sirloin of beef raw, at 16|- cents, costs roasted, 24 cents,
while a leg of mutton at 15 cents, would cost roasted, only 22
cents.

These facts have not only been long known and demonstrated
by English and French philosophers, but have been actually and
practically understood by the people, and certainly are worthy
the consideration of our own countrymen.

The taste for, and consumption of mutton, will increase
according to the quantity and quality of the production. Mutton
can be raised much cheaper than beef or pork. Mr. Mcchi says
he is " convinced that beef must sell 20 per cent, higher than

98 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE.

mutton to make them pay alike." When our formers find the
demand for mutton increasing according to their exertions to
make it good, that they can raise it a quarter cheaper than they
can beef, and that it is better liusbandry to get a liundred
pounds of mutton from one sheep than from two, and that the
quality of that will be a controlling condition, then we shall
have them in our State cultivating the best breeds of English
mutton sheep, to the comfort, profit and health of the whole
community, as well as of themselves.

Another very important consideration which should move for
the raising of more sheep, is the beneficial effect they produce
upon pastures.

We are all too well aware of the impoverished condition of
most of the pastures of this Commonwealth, and of the very
important place which good pasturage holds in agriculture.
To the question proposed in our circular whether sheep improved
pasture land, there has been from every return, but one une-
quivocal " yes, especially on those pastures where the coarse
grasses, briars and bushes are coming in." To quote from a very
able essay by the Secretary of the Massachusetts Society : "Our
own observation and experience has fully confirmed the cor-
rectness of the returns in this respect. We have constantly
under our eye a hundred acre lot upon which cattle a few years
ago could not live, that now maintains in good condition a large
flock of sheep ; and the improvement of the pasture has been so
great that a dozen head of cattle beside the sheep do well
on it.

" The reasons for this are obvious to any one who has observed
the habits of sheep ; they are more indiscriminate feeders than
cattle ; they nip the shoots of almost every shrub as well as weed,
extirpating many kinds in the course of two or three years ;
they make room in this way for the grasses to come in where
they have been shadowed out or otherwise displaced ; the white
weed, the broom or wood-waxen as it is commonly termed, the
golden rod, the blackberry vine, the blueberry, with many
other similar plants, disapj)ear before them, and the finer
grasses and white clover take their place.

" This, however, is only one of the advantages which sheep
possess over cattle upon pastures which are impoverished, — they
scatter their mauure in the way to produce the largest benefit,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 99

besides which, it possesses in the highest degree the requisites
essential to restoring to the land the phosphates which it loses
by long depasturing with cattle.

" The manure of the sheep, too, suffers no waste, being in a
highly concentrated form, and at the same time it is minutely
divided and evenly distributed over the surface of the ground.
So good and economical a distributor of manure is the sheep, tliat
experienced farmers in England are feeding them wlien in pas-
ture with oil cake, for tlie additional benefit of the manure."

Another important consideration in raising sheep rather than
cattle, or horses, is that they can be " turned " or sold at a
much less comparative sacrifice than any other stock, if by
shortness of pasturing, or money, or for any cause, the owner
finds it necessary to reduce his stock ; and in case of accidents
or deaths in a flock, the loss is not as with other stock, a total
one — the pelt bearing a large proportion to the living value of
the animal ; sheep, too, can at any time of the year be replaced,
but cattle cannot always be bought.

BREEDS OF SHEEP.

Without going into a particular and elaborate history of all
the different breeds of sheep, a brief sketch of those now found
in New England may not be uninteresting. We find mention
of sheep very early in the history of the Colonies, but by whom
imported, or from what localities in the mother country, or from
what breeds, we have no information. As early as 1658 Mr.
John Josselyn, in his " Voyages," speaks of there being seven
or eight hundred sheep in the town of Blackpoint in this
Province.

In 1676, Sir Edmund Randolph, one of the provincial gov-
ernors, mentioned in his correspondence to the home govern-
ment, that New England abounded in sheep. The descendants
of these sheep known in our day as " native sheep," in distinc-
tion from the breeds of known importaton, were of two kinds —
one with white faces, and the other with dark faces and legs ;
the first seem to have been preserved in the eastern part of the
State and on the islands, while the latter have been known in
the valley of the Connecticut by the name of " English smuts,"
or " Irish smuts." These last may have been South Downs
imported before the improvement of that celebrated breed, as

100 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

tliey bear many of their characteristics, and might, had tliey
been bred with the care and perseverance which the South Downs
received, have been a most valuable breed.

Our ancestors emigrated from different parts of the United
Kingdom, and some from the various countries of Europe.
Tliey brought with them their implements of husbandry, and
domestic animals to fertilize the wilderness. Each, it would be
natural to suppose, made choice of the favorite breed of his own
immediate district to transport to the new world, and the
admixture of these various breeds formed the mongrel family
called native sheep. Amid the perils of war and the incursions
of beasts of prey, these were preserved with attentive care.

These common sheep yielded a wool only suited for the man-
ufacture of the coarser fabrics, averaging in the hands of good
farmers not over three and a half pounds of wool to the fleece.
They were slow in arriving at maturity, compared with the
improved English breeds, and yielded, when fully grown, only
from ten to fourteen pounds per quarter of a middling quality
of mutton, which was, however, in very slight demand. They
were usually long-legged, light in the fore-quarter, and narrow on
the breast and back, although some instances might lie found of
flocks with short legs, and some approximation to the general
form of improved breeds. They were hardy, easy keepers, and
excellent breeders, often rearing, almost entirely destitute of
care, and without shelter, one hundred per cent, of lambs, and
in small flocks a still larger pi'oportion ; these were usually drop-
ped in the months of March and April. Restless in their dispo-
sition, their impatience of restraint almost equalled that of the
nntamcd sheep of the Rocky Mountains, and in many parts of
the country it was common to see flocks of from twenty to fifty
of these, roving with little regard toinclosures, over the posses-
sions of their owner and his neighbors, leaving a portion of their
wool on every thorn and bush.

The old common stock as a distinct family has nearly disap-
peared, having been crossed to a greater or less degree with the
foreign breeds of later introduction. The first cross with the
Merino resulted in a decided improvement, and produced a
variety exceedingly valuable to the farmers who grew wool
for domestic purposes ; the fleeces were of uneven iineness,
being hairy on the thighs and dewlap, but the general quality

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 101

was much improved, and the quantity considerably augmented ;
the carcase was brouglit nearer the ground, and rendered more
compact, and they lost some of their unquiet and roving dispo-
sition.

The cross with the Saxonies for reasons to wliich we shall
hereafter allude, has not generally been so successful. With the
Leiccsters and Downs, so far as size, form and a propensity to
take on fat are concerned, it is manifest that they are much
improved. They are so hardy, thrifty, and such good nurses,
that they make an excellent cross for lambs with a South Down
or an Oxford Down ram. Lambs of one of the Committee by
an Oxford Down ram out of dark faced native (or as they are
called, " Irish " or " English smuts,") at sixteen weeks old,
dressed from forty to forty-eight pounds, from milk and grass
alone. Till after the Revolution, such sheep furnished all the
wool used in the country for domestic purposes, and the fine
cloth was all imported from England ; the meat was not in
general favor, and but little eaten. Had they been bred with
any thing like the skill and patience manifested by Bakewell,
and Pullman, to improve the good points, and to correct the bad
ones, they would have become a breed answering all our require-
ments for mutton and lamb, and we should never have been
obliged to go to England for our sheep.

From a very early period in English history, as early certain-
ly as the twelfth century, sheep, wool and all the manufactures
of that article, were by legislation and royal edicts carefully
fostered and sedulously encouraged, and as a part of the same
policy, they were ever in an equal degree discouraged and
frowned upon in the colonies of that powerful and far-seeing
nation.

MERINOS.

At the close of the war with Great Britain, then, we found
ourselves not only without manufactories of woollens, but also
destitute of the material upon which to work ; the attention of
our statesmen was early directed to supply this deficiency, and
they wisely looked to the Merinos of Spain to do it, but it was
with great difficulty that tlie Spanish government could be per-
suaded to allow any exportation of them. In 1793, the late
lion. William Foster, of Boston, then a young man travelling

13*

102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

in Spain, smnprgled a ram and two ewes on to the ship Bald
Eagle, Capt. John Atkins, and after a long passage and some
sickness, landed them safely in Boston and gave them to his friend
Andrew Cragie, Esq., of Cambridge ; there being then no man-
ufactories, and perhaps no proper appreciation of their splendid
fleeces, and being probably a trouble to Mr. Cragie, he killed
and ate them ; fifteen years after that time he paid for similar
sheep •$ 1,000 a piece. ' Gen. David Humphreys, of Connecti-
cut, in 1802, when Minister to Spain under Mr. Jefferson,
imported a flock of two hundred, which he bred and increased
with snch success as in 1807 to have made several hundred
yards of fine cloth, for which he received a gold medal from
the " Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture." Some
of those sheep were brought into Franklin County at that time
by Capt. David Dennison, and the direct blood of that stock
exists there to this day.

Chancellor Livingston, of New York, imported a few, and
in 1809-10, the late Hon. William Jarvis, of Wethersficld, Vt.,
commonly known as Consul Jarvis, imported very largely,
and to him more than any one, is due the rapid advance in
manufactures of fine wool, which were pursued with more zeal
than discretion ; for every other branch of agriculture suffered
from the undue importance attached to growing fine wool.

The attention of the country was about that time almost
entirely directed to wool growing, and manufactures and the
Merino rose into supreme importance ; so great was the interest
excited, that a thousand, and fourteen hundred dollars a head
were paid for them. Unfortunately, some of the later importa-
tions arrived in the worst possible condition, bringing with them
those scourges of their race, the scab and the foot rot.

Tlie ^fcrino is a patient, docile animal, bearing much confine-
ment without injury to health ; accurate experiments have
shown that it requires a little over two pounds of hay per day
in winter, while the Leicester will consume nearly four.

The Merino is a far better breeder than other fine-woolled
sheep, and it is said that the lambs when dropped are hardier
than the Leicester ; the fleece is fine, though small, the
average being in this State, only three pounds and two
ounces, though some flocks shear four pounds. The French
and Silesian Merinos, originally of Spanish stock, have been

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 103

bred with much care in Franco and Silesia, where they were
inijmrted about a hundred years ago, and became quite separate
and distinct in their characteristics. They were imported to
this country by George Campbell and otliers, of Westminster,
Vermont, in 1851. They do not, however, seem likely to
supersede the Spanish.

SAXONIES.

The next importation of fine wools was of the Saxonies, a
breed originally from the Spanish, but introduced into that
State by the Elector of Saxony, and being bred and treated with
the utmost care, became in the quality of wool superior even to
the Spanish Merino. It was believed that sheep prodnced so
far north as Saxony, although discarded from the Spanish
Merino, would prove hardier and more suitable for our climate;
but results have not justified the expectations of those who
introduced them, which at the time were raised to a degree
nearly equaling those of the Merino. Samuel Henshavv, of
Boston, imported the first in 1823. A Boston house soon after
imported several lots, some of which were sold at auction,
bringing as high a price as $450. Not giving the satisfaction
expected by those who purchased them, they were soon crossed
with the Merinos to such an extent that very few remain pure
in this State. Although the Saxony wool is of superlative fine-
ness, the sheep are not hardy, the fleece being so light as
not sufficient to protect them from the cold and wet, or to be
generally remiinerative, averaging through the country only
two pounds and two ounces to the fleece.

LEICESTERS.

Of the improved established breeds of England, the earliest,
and the first imported into the country, was the New Leicester,
so called from the county of Leicester, where it had its origin.
It was formed by Mr. Robert Bakewell, of Dishley, whence it is
likewise called the Bakewell or Dishley breed. It was about the
year 1755 that Mr. Bakewell commenced those experiments in
breeding sheep and other animals, which led to such important
results ; his object was to produce sheep exempt from tlie
defects of the races then cultivated, and possessed of a greater
aptitude to fatten and to arrive at early maturity, and the

104 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

means whicli he employed were breeding from the individuals
possessed of the properties sought for, and rendering those
properties permanent in their offspring. It is known that
by a continued selection of the male and female parents in a
given number of animals, the points regarded as defects, can,
under certain limits, be removed, and the acquired properties
rendered permanent in the progeny by continued reproduction
with one another. Holding bulk of body, and the produce of
the fleece to be secondary properties, Bakewell directed especial
attention to the external form which indicated the property of
yielding the largest quantity of muscle and fat with the least
bone, and what is usually termed offal.

The actual sources whence Mr. Bakewell derived his breed,
cannot be accurately ascertained ; it is probable that he was
not particular as to the source, so that he could obtain the
desired qualifications. He himself was very uncommunicative
on this point, and the knowledge of the origin of his breed
perished with him ; it is even unknown whether, and to what
extent he was benefited by the previous improvements of others,
though it is \ery reasonable to presume that he did so as much
as possible. It is probable, however, that the foundation of his
breed was the best existing specimens of the " Old Leicester "
breed, though in one of his letters to a Mr. Chaplin, a rival
breeder in 1778, he admits at one time having made use of
rams of the " Old Lincoln " breed. Progressively perfecting
his animals by skilful selections, he necessarily continued to
breed from his own stock, and did not scruple to connect ani-
mals the nearest allied to each other. This system continually
pursued, not only gave a permanency to the characters im-
printed on his sheep, constituting a breed in the proper sense of
the term, but tended to produce that delicacy of form, which
experience shows to be connected with the power of secreting
fat, and arriving at early maturity. This system acted upon for
successive generations, tended likewise to render the animals
more the creatures of an artificial condition, more delicate in
temperament as well as in form, less prolific of lambs, less
capable of supplying milk to their offspring, and greatly
reducing the weight and quality of the fleece. It was not that
Mr. Bakewell was unobservant of these facts, but he appears to
have regarded them as being of a consideration secondary to

SECRETAEY'S REPORT. 105

tho property of producing iii the shortest tune, the largest
quantity of fat with tlie least consumption of food.

That this was the main result at whicli his practice arrived
is evident, and his success corresponded with his skill and per-
severance ; not only did he regard the growth of wool as a
secondary object, but lie appears to have entertained the opinion
that the production of a large quantity of wool was inconsistent
with the property of yielding much fat, and this opinion would
necessarily conduct him to the choice of animals which pro-
duced a lighter fleece ; indeed he is reported to have said that
he didn't care whether his sheep bore any wool at all, or not.

Of course as he was alone, and could not, and would not
improve his flock by crossing with others, he continued to
" breed in and in," as it is called, to an extent never before
practised, and the result was, that while he got very perfect
forms and very fine bone, he greatly reduced the value of the
wool and very seriously impaired the constitutions of his breed.
Although most, if not all of the Leicesters of this State are
from Canada, where they have been improved by crossing with
the Cotswold, Cheviot and other breeds, becoming hardier,
better woolled and more prolific, yet they have never proved
favorites with any large portion of our farmers. Our long,
cold winters, not less than our dry, scorching summers, when
it is often difficult to obtain the rich, green feed in which the
Leicester delights, and the general want of green food in the
winter, rob it of its early maturity and even of the ultimate
size which it attains in England. They are less hardy and
more subject to disease than most other breeds; they produce
fewer lambs, and these are more delicate and feeble, finding
but an indifferent supply of milk.

Their mutton is too fat, and the fat and lean too little inter-
mixed to suit American tastes ; the fat lies mostly on the
outside with but comparatively little inside ; the South Downs?
whose meat commands a penny a pound more than the Leices-
ter in England, has heavy inside tallow. The London butchers
in exposing mutton, show the inside of the carcase of the Down
sheep, but hang the Leicesters with the back out. The desira-
ble characteristics of this breed are thus given by Mr. Youatt :
" The head should be hornless, long, small, tapering towards
the muzzle and projecting horizontally forward and jierfectly

lOG BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

wliite ; the ejcs prominent, but with a quiet expression; the
ears thin, ratlier long and directed backwards ; the neck full
and iH'oad where it proceeds from the chest ; the breast broad
and full ; the shoulders broad and round ; no rising in the
withers or hollow behind the situation of these bones; the
bones of the leg small, standing wide apart; the chest and
barrel deep and round ; the ribs forming a considerable arch
from the spine ; the carcase gradually diminishing in width
towards the rump ; the quarters long and full, and as with the
fore legs, the muscles extending down to the hock ; the thighs
also wide and full ; the legs of a moderate length ; the pelt
also moderately thin, but soft, elastic and covered with a good
quantity of wool." Tlie fleeces of the Leicesters average about
seven and a half pounds, soft, but rather inferior, worth about
twenty-six cents per pound. In the carcase, the weight of the
hind and fore quarters approximates nearer than in most
breeds ; two year old wethers, weighing when fat, from twenty-
five to thirty-five pounds per quarter. When tliese "sheep were
first introduced into Canada and from there into the States, we
have no means of ascertaining ; the first direct importation was
about 1820, by the late Christoplier Dunn, of Albany, and sub-
sequently by C:>\. Powell, of Philadelphia.

SOUTH DOWNS.

While the Leicesters can only trace their origin about a hun-
dred years, when they as it were, sprang into being, a different
animal altogetlier from their predecessors, the South Down
on the other hand, can trace a long line of pure descent from a
period antecedent to William the Conqueror, and is unquestion-
ably the purest and most unmixed breed in Great Britain.
The Leicester was made from a few individual animals possess-
ing the qualifications which the breeder thouglit desirable, but
the South Downs have reached their present perfection by con-
slant and unremitting attention to the })urity and perfection of
the original breed.

The improvement of the Downs has necessarily been slower
in its progress, but it has been obtained without any sacrifice
of the intrinsic and desirable qualities of the original breed.
The original sheep of the South Downs of Sussex were of the
smaller breeds, with light forc-c^uarters, narrow chests, long

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 107

necks, and long, thongli not coar.sc limbs ; their wool was short,
fine and curling, although not equalling the finc-woolled breeds ;
they had dark faces and legs. The chief prhiciple adopted in
improving them has been to amend the defects of form, and in
so doing, the improved breed has become smaller in bone, with
greater disposition to fatten, an earlier maturity and heavier
carcase, while still retaining their former hardihood and capa-
bility of doing well on scanty pasture. These essentials consti-
tute the perfection of the breed ; they can endure the vigor of
the weather and preserve their flesh on pastures where a Leices-
ter sheep would die. The ewes are prolific breeders and good
nurses ; they are quiet and docile in their disposition, and though
industrious feeders, exhibit little disposition to rove. The meat
of the South Downs is of a superior quality, always command-
ing a higher price in the English markets than ^ny other ; its
early maturity and extreme aptitude to take on flesh, render it
peculiarly valuable for this purpose. The lambs are fit for
market at twelve weeks old, and wethers turned at two years old,
weigh from eighty-five to one hundred and twenty-five pounds ;
they make more internal fat than others, and on this account
are favorites with the butchers ; the fineness and quality of the
fleece was no doubt one of the original recommendations, but
this has long since become a secondary consideration, as it must
necessarily be, in sheep raised for their flesh ; the average
weight of South Down fleeces is called in England at three
pounds, in this country it will reach four pounds of washed
wool, which is always in good demand and fetches from thirty-
two to thirty-seven cents when Merino sells for fifty cents.

The improvement of this most useful breed of sheep, which
has now spread all over the world, commenced about 1780, and
is due to ^Ir. John Ellinan, tlie first and principal breeder who
pursued his system of progressive change, with judgment, per-
severance and zeal ; and he must be regarded as one of the most
skilful and successful breeders of England. He displayed none
of the too narrow selfishness which it is to be regretted ap-
peared in the proceedings of his distinguished cotemporaiy,
Mr. Bakewell. He freely communicated the details of his
valuable practice, and showed himself to be entirely exempt
from illiberal prejudices. He did not carry any of his
principles of breeding to an extreme ; he sought for the prop-

108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

erties of health and soundness of constitntion as well as for
external form, and facUity of fattening, and therefore did not,
like Bakcwell, confine himself rigidly to the blood of his own
stock, but resorted to others, that he might infuse fresh vigor
into his flocks, and prevent them from becoming too delicate.
His aim, in short, was the really useful, and though he reaped
the due reward of his enterprise and skill, it was never obtained
by acts of any kind of deception or useless ostentation.

The description of a perfect South Down slieep, as given by
Mr. EUman, may not be uninteresting: —

" The head small and hornless, the faces brown and gray,
and neither too long or too short ; the lips thin, and the space
between the nose and eyes narrow, the under-jaw or chop fine
and thin ; the ears tolerably wide, and well covered with wool ;
the forehead, also, and the whole space between the ears well
protected by it as a defence from the fly ; the eye full and
bright, but not prominent, the orbit of the eye not too project-
ing ; the neck of a medium length, thin towards the head, but
enlarging towards the shoulders, where it should be broad and
high, and straight in its whole course above and below. The
breast should be wide, deep, and ])rojccting forward between
the fore-legs, indicating a good constitution, and a disposition
to thrive ; corresponding with this, the shoulders should be on
a level with the back, and not too wide above ; they should bow
outwards from the top to the breast, indicating a springing rib,
and leaving room for it ; the ribs coming out horizontally from
the spine, and extending far backward, and the last rib pro-
jecting more than the others ; the back flat from the shoulder
to the setting on of the tail; the loin broad and flat; the rump
long and broad, and the tail set on high, and nearly on a level
witii the spine; the hips wide, and the space between them and
the last rib on either side as narrow as possible, and the ribs
generally presenting a circular form, like a barrel ; the belly
as straight as the back, the legs neither too long nor too short;
the fore-legs straight from the breast to the foot, not bending
in at the knee, and standing far apart both before and behind ;
the hocks having a direction rather outward, and the twist or
the meeting of the thighs behind being particularly full ; the
bones fine, yet having no appearance of weakness ; the belly
well defended with wool, which comes down before and behind

SECRETARY'S REFORT. 109

to the knee and the hock ; the wool short, close, curled and
fine."

A uniform brown or gray color of the face and legs is made
an unvarying test by the best breeders of the purity of blood ;
a speckled or spotted face being unhesitatingly condemned as
indicating an admixture of foreign blood.

COTS WOLDS.

The Cotswolds, which next claim our attention, take their
name from a tract of low, chalky hills in the eastern division of
the county of Gloucester, England, where they have been bred
for a period of time running back beyond the reach of history.
The earliest English writers mention them as being fed in great
numbers " flocks of Cotteswolde sheepe, long-necked, and square
of bulk and bone, whose wool being most fair and soft, is held
in passing great esteeme amongst all nations." And Old
Stowc, in his Chronicles, states that in the year 1464, " King
Henry IVth granted license for certain Cotteswolde sheepe to
be transported into the country of Spaine, which have there
since mightily increased and multiplied to the Spanish profit,
as it is said." At the same time, he negatives the idea
advanced by some, that the ^lerinos of Spain took their origin
from them ; he says " true it is, that long ere this there were
sheepe in Spaine, as may appear by a patent of King Henry Hd
granting to the weavers of London, that if any cloth were
found to be made of Spanish wool, the mayor of London
should see it burnt."

The Cotswold, soon after the New Leicester breed had been
perfected, began to be extensively crossed with it. The attempt
to improve by crossing Cotswold rams and Leicester ewes, failed
of success, but crossing the other way proved eminently suc-
cessful, and was pursued so extensively that there was hardly
a Cotswold flock left which was not more or less mixed with
the Leicester ; the effect was in other cases to diminisli tlie
bulk of body of the existing breed, and to reduce the quantity
of wool, and to communicate to the individuals a greater deli-
cacy of form ; about thirty-five years ago, however, the Cots-
wold breeders began to apprehend that their flocks were losing
too much in carcase and fleece, and becoming less fitted for the
climate of their native hills, and from that time they have pre-

14*

110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

served their blood in purity. In wciglit of wool, size, sound-
ness and hardiness of constitution, they far excel the Leices-
ters. The sacrifice of the secondary properties, which Bake-
well did not hesitate to make, is avoided, and the present feel-
ing of breeders is to maintain a larger and more robust form
to the animals. Thus, the Cotswold, though inferior in form
to the New Leicester, is maintaining a successful rivalry with
it in many parts of Great Britain, wiiere a heavier fleece is
preferred. Beside the qualities before stated, the Cotswold
ewes are inclined to be prolific, often dropping twins, and are
good nurses ; their wool is strong, of a good color, rather
coarse, but of a mellow quality, usually weighing seven or
eight pounds ; they make excellent mutton, and at two years
old weigh from 25 to 35 pounds per quarter. A Cotswold ram
has weighed 374 pounds, and sheared from 17 to 18 pounds.
The Cotswolds may be thus described : they are large, the skin
thick and covered with good coarse wool ; the head long and
rather thin, face and legs white, the ears wide, and not too thin
and not covered with wool, but having a tuft on the foreliead, the
wool comes down to the knee and hock, and covers the neck and
chops; head well set on, back straight, deep brisket, and good
barrel. Tiiey were first imported into this country about 1828
and since that time have been largely brought from Canada, many
from the farm of Mr. F. W. Stone, of Guelph, Canada "West, one
of the most successful breeders of the Cotswold, South Down and
New Leicester sheep, and short-horned cattle on this continent.

NEW OXFORDSHIRE, OR IMPROVED COTSWOLD.

In the county of Oxfordshire, England, they have for some
years crossed the Leicester into the Cotswold, making a very large
and handsome sheep, termed the. New Oxfordshire, or improved
Cotswold. These sheep are large, with a very white, open
fleece, of moderately fine wool ; they are liked by those that
own them ; they resemble the New Leicester in appearance,
though larger, and if they do not draw from that side the
objectionable characteristics of the Leicester, Avill prove a
profitable and desirable introduction ; they should not be con-
founded with the Oxford Downs, which have dark faces and
legs. IMr. Lawrence jSmith, of !Middlefickl, who has bred them
for over eight years, writes: " I doubt whether they are as

SECRETARY'S REPORT. Ill

hardy as tlic old-fasliioncd Cotswolds or South Downs. I have
never had any trouble with thcni in regard to cold weather, or
changes of climate ; indeed, they prefer an open, cool, airy
situation to any other, and nothing is more destructive to their
health than tight ill-ventilated stables. My present experience
warrants me in saying that one-half the ewes will have twins ;
they are capital nurses and milkers ; I have not had for the
past seven years a single case of neglect on the part of the dam,
nor have I lost a single lamb from lack of constitution. Year-
ling ewes will weigh in store condition from 125 lbs. to 175
lbs. ; fat' wethers at three years old, from 175 lbs. to 250 lbs.
My heaviest breeding ewe last winter weighed 211 lbs. My
flock of store sheep and breeding ewes usually shear from five
to seven pounds. My ram fleeces sometimes weigh ten pounds
unwashed, and will sell in this condition for twenty-five cents
per pound. I never feed my store sheep and lambs with grain,
hut give them early cut hay, and occasionally a few roots."
These sheep were first imported by Mr. Charles Reybold, of
Delaware, in 184G.

BLACK FACED HEATH BREED.

A few sheep of this breed, have been imported the past year
by Sanford Howard, Esq., for Isaac Stickney, of Boston. As
Mr. Howard is one of the best judges of stock in the State,
it is presumed that these are good specimens. It is a
very peculiar breed, inhabiting the barren and heathy hills
extending all over Scotland, and the North of England, and
is the most hardy of all the British sheep. They are not of large
size, four year old wethers averaging only about fifteen pounds
to the quarter ; both sexes have horns ; their faces and legs are
black, limbs lengthy, and muscular, and the form robust ; their
wool is coarse and averages about three pounds to the fleece ;
their mutton is highly esteemed. An important property of
this breed is its adaptability to a country of heaths and scanty
herbage, in which respect it excels all others ; it is this property
as well as its hardiness that has rendered it so suitable to the
heathy mountains where it is acclimated, and where it finds
subsistence beyond the ordinary range of other sheep. The
ewes are hardy nurses, and are able to bring up their young
when they themselves have been exposed to great privations.

112 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

They liave been successfully crossed with rams of both Leices-
ter and South Down breeds. How tiiey will succeed here,
remains for their enterprising and public spirited owner to
demonstrate.

HAMPSHIRE DOWNS.

It is said in England, that twenty years' careful cross-breed-
ing and selecting is long enough to make a new and distinct
breed of sheep ; there are three such cross-breeds now recog-
nized, so valuable for their meat and flesh combined as to be
rapidly taking the lead in England ; and the first of -which we
shall speak is the Hampshire Down, which originally was a large,
white-faced, coarse sheep, with horns, and a moderate fleece of
middle wool. About the beginning of the present century, the
Hampshire breeders procured some rams of the South Down
breed; finding the experiment successful, it was repeated again
and again, always by selecting the coarsest and darkest faces
of the South Downs ; this was done till the whole character of
the sheep was changed ; the horns disappeared, the color of the
face was changed from white to black, and with these changes
they imparted a more compact form, a broader back, a rounder
barrel, shorter legs, and sui)erior quality altogether, yet pre-
serving the hardiness and disposition to make early growth,
which the original flock undoubtedly possessed. They have
now spread all over England, and may be instanced as an
example of successful cross-breeding ; the lambs are large and
fatten early, and this is a most important consideration in rais-
ing sheep for market. Mr. Spooner says, " the greater economy
of fattening a young animal over an old one, may be readily
explained by the fact, that Avhilst the latter increases in fat
alone, the former does so in flesh, fat and bone, and thus can
assimilate a greater amount of the nutritive properties of the
food, and is consequently a more profitable feeder."

We know of but one lot of Hampshire Downs in this country,
those owned by Mr. Messinger, of Long Island, and exhibited
by him at the New York State Fair for 18(J0.

SHROPSHIRE DOWNS.

There has been, we believe, a small importation by Mr. Loril-
lard, of New York, of the Shropshire Downs ; this breed is

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 113

rapidly coming into notice and repute in England, they arc
essentially cross-bred, and made up from hardy mountain breeds
through which they inherit an excellent constitution.

These Salop sheep were bred from the " Clun Forest," a short-
legged, square-framed symmetrical sheep with dark-brown face
and legs, and the Ryeland, a larger animal with white face and
finer wool ; these having been bred together, were again crossed
with the Sussex, Hampshire, and South Dowlis, making the
present breed of Shropshire, a large, symmetrical animal, bearing
no resemblance to the original Shrop or Salop, except in the
dark color of the face and legs. The Shropshire possess hardi-
ness of constitution, an excellent quality of mutton, and are
prolific breeders and good nurses ; they have good shape and
symmetry, well-formed, good dark-brown heads, deep chests,
famous legs of mutton, with a good dock set high on a straight,
long spine ; the wool is of thick pile, and good length of staple,
weighing from 5^ to 7 pounds per fleece. Wethers dress from
25 to 30 pounds per quarter. In a letter to the chairman of
this Committee, Mr. Henry Smith, Jr., of Shiffnal, a celebrated
breeder of Shrops, says : " for early maturity and weight of
carcase and wool, with the least amount of food, I believe they
are not to be surpassed by any breed, especially if their non-
liability to disease, and fecundity, be duly taken into consider-
ation."

OXFORD DOWNS.

Resembling these though perhaps in some points superior to
them, are the Oxford Downs, formerly called the " Cotswold
Downs ;" but in 1857 a convention of the breeders of these
sheep, holden at Oxford, decided upon giving them the name
they now bear.

These too are cross-bred sheep, the cross having been com-
menced in 1833 by putting a Cotswold ram with Hampshire
or sometimes South Down ewes, the Hampshire Downs being
themselves cross-bred. By putting these crosses together, and
by constant attention and breeding, a most successful result has
been accomplished, producing a kind of sheep that possesses
with uniformity of character, and hardiness of constitution,
large frames, good fleeces, aptitude to fatten, and mutton of a
superior quality. The people of this Commonwealth are

114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

indebted to Richard S. Fay, Esq., of Lynn, for this splendid
breed of sheep.

Preparing to return to this country after a residence of some
years in Enghmd, and with a thorough acquaintance with all
the British breeds, he, with Hon. "Wm. C. Rives, of Virginia, who
also imported a flock for himself, selected this as the most
desirable sheep, combining with the best meat-producing quali-
ties a superior fleece of wool. Several lots were afterwards
imported for David Scars, Jr., of Boston, and for himself.

The Oxford Downs have gray faces and legs, not quite so dark
as the South Downs, head fine, and well set; small bone, deep
brisket, round hams, good flat back ; hips wide, and tail set up
high ; belly straight ; buttock square, legs rather short and fine,
and twist full ; the loin is very wide and deep, and a wide
spread between the hind legs for the development of the udder,
indicates good milkers. They are exceedingly gentle, quiet
and orderly, never jumping and not inclined to ramble ; they
are hearty feeders, and will thrive on any thing given to them,
and bear better than any other large sheep, scanty pasturage.
The ewes very commonly have twins and suckle them both ; the
lambs thrive very fast, often reaching 100 pounds in five months
on nothing but milk and grass. A yearling ram from Mr. Fay's
flock gained 15 pounds in three weeks, and a ram-lamb weighing
85 pounds at five months, or six months, weighed 105, on nothing
but grass. A yearling ram seventeen months old, imported this
season by Mr. Fay, weighed just off the ship, 250 pounds, and
at twenty-one months old, 800 pounds ; and a five-year-old ram of
this breed weighed this spring, 300 pounds. Mr. Fay's ewes
weigh from 150 to 180 ])ounds.

The fleeces are thick and heavy, and find a ready market,
the wool being of a very desirable quality for certain fabrics.
Mr. Fay's flock averaged over seven pounds of unwashed wool, for
which he got thirty-four cents per pound. Mr. Druce, a celebrated
English breeder, in a letter in the " Royal Agricultural Society's
Journal," and Mr. Roberts a large breeder, say that their
wethers usually go to market at thirteen or fourteen months
old, dressing from 80 to 88 pounds, and shearing from 7 to 10
pounds. Their ewes weigh from 100 to 140 pounds ; they are
good mothers, and produce a large proportion of twins ; they
arc seldom attacked by any disease. As a breed from which to

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 115

raise early lambs, one of the most desirable and profitable
branches of farming in this Commonwealth, this breed is unri-
valled on account of the quick growth, early maturity, healthi-
ness and thriftiness of the lambs.

As previously mentioned under the head of " native sheep,"
they make a most excellent cross for lambs on the old " English
or Irish smuts " known so long here as native sheep. The
quality of their mutton is unsurpassed, and they possess the rare
merit of ripening early. Dark-faced sheep as a general rule,
are the most desirable as being tlie most hardy, making the best
nurses, ripening earliest and making from the least feed, not
only the most but the best mutton.

CROSS-BREEDING.

The subject of cross-breeding has been with us a question of
more than ordinary examination. It is a matter of regret, that
so far as we are informed, there have never been any well-regu-
lated or properly directed experiments in the cross-breeding of
sheep in this Commonwealth; and so far as we know the
attempts in this country to cross-breed systematically, establish-
ing a fixity of character in the new-created breed, have been
very few ; it has been done by a few gentlemen in Maryland,
and by some Kentucky breeders, with such success as to have
given their sheep a great reputation. An intelligent under-
standing of the principles that control this is of such importance
to the skilful breeder, that we have thought expedient to devote
considerable space to them, and have made use of all the materi-
als within our reach ; the works of Mr. Spooner, Dr. Blacklock,
Mr. Youatt, and the essays of Mr. Finlay Dun, Mr. Lawes,
John Wilson, M. Malingie-Nouel, all eminent writers or breed-
ers, are among the authorities we use and freely quote.
Although perhaps in this country we have not the same advan-
tages or necessities for cross-breeding as in England, yet without
doubt our sheep might have been vastly improved by careful
and judicious selections and breeding ; but as a general thing
our people will not devote the time, tlic skill, the patience
necessary to change permanently the character of any of their
domestic animals, nor have they attempted to breed with any
well-determined purpose.

116 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

To quote from an essay of Mr. Spooner : " When equal advan-
tages can be obtained by keeping a pure breed of sheep, such
pure breed should undoubtedly be preferred, and though cross-
breeding for the purposes of the butcher, is practised with
advantage and success, yet no one should do so for the purpose
of establishing a new breed, unless he has clear and well-defined
views of the object he wishes to accomplish, and has duely
studied the principles on which it can be carried out, and is
determined to bestow for the space of half a life-time his con-
stant and unremitting attention to the discovery and removal
of defects." Perhaps this is stated ratlier strongly, but in this
impatient country of ours \vc seldom find a farmer who can and
is willing to do this or any thing like it.

The true object of breeding sheep is the acquirement of the
largest quantity of wool, mutton and tallow, of the best and
most salable quality, but it must be guided by skill, judgment
and experience, and must not be done at random. A great part
of the whole art of breeding lies in the principle of judicious
crossing, for it is only by attending properly to this that success
cixn be attained, and animals produced that shall yield the
greatest amount of profit for the food they consume. To carry
out the system of crossing properly, certain animals must be
kept pure of their kind, males especially ; indeed, no animal
possessing spurious blood, or an admixture with other breeds,
should be used. The produce in almost all cases assimilates to
the male parent in form, and in crossing sheep, the use of any
rams not of full blood is injudicious, and ought to be avoided.
In crossing, we must consider the influence of the individual
parents on the progeny ; the size of the animals, their habits
and dispositions, and their peculiarities in regard to the time of
their, maturity ; their fecundity and capability for rearing twins,
their Ilecces and fattening (qualities. Far too little attention is
})aid at the commencement of an undertaking in these impor-
tant matters.

Farmers enter upon this most arduous part of their profession
with less skill and less perseverance than they would bestow in
any other branch of business, and proceed to breeding and
crossing without the knowledge of the first fundamental princi-
ple that should control it. In crossing, there are several impor-
tant things to be attended to. Well-formed parents ought to be

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 117

selected, if for tlie improvement of tlic wool solely, — of the Merino
breed ; if for enlargement and proportion of the carcass, — of
the Downs or the Cotswolds ; the size of the parents should not
be too much disproportioned at first, " Nature abhors s\idden
extremes," and does every thing in the most gradual manner,
though in breeding for the shambles it is desirable to use a
larger ram than otherwise, as it is now generally admitted that
the progeny is more influenced in its external form and size by
the male, and in its constitution by the female. This is strik-
ingly illustrated by a breed of sheep well known in this Com-
monwealth fifty years ago, and still existing, called the " Otter
breed," from the peculiarity of their legs; they originated on
one of the islands in the eastern part of the State ; a ewe of the
" native breed " belonging to a man, dropped twin lambs, one
of them a ram, which was allowed to grow and serve ewes ; his
offspring inherited the same peculiarity to such an extent as to
create the breed thus described by Mr. Livingston, in 1811 :
" These sheep are long bodied rather than large, and weigh
about fifteen pounds per quarter ; their wool is of a medium
fineness, and a medium length ; but that which particularly
characterizes these sheep is the length of their bodies and the
shortness of their legs, which are also turned out in such a
manner as to appear rickety. Tiiey cannot run or jump, and
they even walk with some difficulty. They appear as if their
legs had been broken and set by some awkward surgeon."
These sheep owed entirely their peculiarity to this ram.

Mr. Spooner says : " The back, loins, hind-quarters, general
shape, skin and size, follow one parent, and the fore-quarters,
head, vital and nervous system the other, and we may go so far
as to add that the former, in the great majority of cases, go
with the male parent, and the latter with the female." While
the male offspring generally takes more strongly of the charac-
teristics of the father, and the female of the mother, yet the
more powerful and vigorous parent, doubtless impresses on the
progeny an undue influence of its character. While a large
ram is used in breeding for the butcher, it is of importance tliat
the ewe should be well spread, that the pelvis should be wide
and capacious so that she may have no trouble in lambing. It
is not to be imagined that when by dint of crossing we have
attained tiie variety wanted, it will remain in the condition to
15*

118 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

which we have brought it without the slightest liability to alter.
Many farmers believe they have done all that is required, if
they subject their stock to three or four crossings. They think
that the improved animals they have obtained, will support the
acquired characters uninfluenced by extraneous agency. Now
no idea could be more erroneous, nothing more faulty than this
mode of management. Clianges in fact by crossing are not to
be effected in a short space of time ; it will require years of
constant exertion to alter a flock ; the progeny of most domes-
ticated animals often bear a striking resemblance to the grand-
father or grandmother, and it is well known tliat the desired
changes cannot be effected on a breed, or that the desired breed
cannot be produced till the third, fourth, or even the fifth crossing,
so that the importance of having few defects in a breeding stock
will be readily admitted. The question of " breeding in and
in," or from animals with near affinities, is somewliat an open
one in England. "We believe the inexpediency of it is univer-
sally acknowledged in this country, and our limits will not
admit the arguments adduced by either side. On the part of
those who favor the practice, it amounts to this, that they can
make selections of more perfect animals from which to breed, by
continuing in the same flock, but that it requires the nicest
judgment to do it successfully, and not impair the constitution,
or diminish some valuable quality, which the opponents to the
system on the other hand, maintain must inevitably be the
consequence of continuing the practice.

There is a direct pecuniary advantage in judicious cross-
breeding; increased size, a disposition to fatten early, fecundity,
■ and early maturity are thereby induced. Many farmers are
contented with the first cross as possessing all these qualities,
and sell all their laml)s ; the great objection to this course is
that it makes the necessity of selling out each year, and buying
in anew, — never renewing from one's own flock, but dependent
on others, which is wrong in principle. This is sometimes done
with the South Down and Merino, and very good lambs are
procured, but they cannot be successfully continued in l)reed-
ing ; any attempt to engraft the South Down permanently on to
the Merino will eventually fail ; there is not sufficient affinity
of constitution between the improvers, and those we Avish to
improve. If two animals very different in their qualities are

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 119

put together, the offspring may resemble either one parent, or
the other, and the faults of either, or of both may appear in the
second or third generation ; the more closely the natures of
different animals approach each other, the more likely is the
offspring they produce to be according to our wishes, for nature
does not delight, in contrasts. The Merino cannot be made to
amalgamate with the coarse-woolled sheep. It has been repeat-
edly tried in England under royal patronage and the most
favorable auspices. Undoubtedly if the carcass of the South
Down, and the wool of the Merino, could be united in the same
animal, the acme of sheep-breeding would be attained. It was
found, however, that the quality of the wool was not a sufficient
recompense for the want of early maturity and feeding proper-
ties, and at length, after many trials, the Merinos disappeared,
and although there are a few left in England, all attempts at
crossing with them have long since been given up.

In France a distinguished farmer and agricultural writer, M.
Malingie-Nouel, after having tried in vain for years to cross the
coarse-woolled sheep of England, on to the pure Merino, suc-
ceeded by taking mongrel Merinos from different provinces and
crossing them together, till he had broken up the controlling
influence of the ancient Merino blood. lie says : " Breeders
attach the greatest importance to purity of race on each side,
because of the natural law by which the offspring resemble not
merely the father and mother, but sometimes the grandparents,
the great-grandparents, and further still. The purer the race
of such ancestors, the more strongly do its characteristics over-
come the subsequent mixture of breeds, and imprint themselves
on the new offspring; in fact the principle of antiquity or purity
of race, is what has most influence upon crosses, and we see it
in the Merino and South Down sheep, and in the Hereford and
Devon cattle ; old races, as contrasted with the Short-horns and
the Ayrshires, mixed breeds. The most successful cross-breeding
in England, according to Mr. Spooner, has been of the Oxford
Downs, made by crossing the Hampshire Downs, the Cotswold
and the South Downs together. He publishes a statement by
Mr. Druce, one of the first to introduce this cross, who says:
" I find no difficulty in keeping the form and size of the animal
as it should be, the wool of a valuable quality, and not deficient
in quantity, and I maintain that the good qualities can be better

120 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

secured by employing the cross-bred animals on both sides, than
by usinini: the first cross." He also gives a table of experiments
in feeding, showing that the Oxford Downs far surpassed the
Cotswolds, Leicesters, Hampshire Downs, and South Downs, in
the superior quality and higher price per pound of the mutton,
as compared with long-woolled sheep, and the superior weight
of wool and mutton as compared with the short-woolled.

These principles of judicious cross-breeding are of immense
importance to us, applicable to cattle as well as sheep. Large
importations of splendid cattle, and sheep have been constantly
made by enterprising farmers and breeders, because it was
easier to buy, than to make such stock. But without unremit-
ting care in breeding, our stock will deteriorate, — or we shall
be obliged forever to have recourse to England to keep it good,
either of which courses would be discreditable to us. Skilful
cross-breeding also necessitates an improvement in the manage-
ment, as well as the breed, for it is a mistake to improve the
flock without changing the management, and an equal mistake
to improve the management without refining the breed ; both
should advance together, if profit be looked for.

SUMMER TREATMENT.

The management of coarse, or middle-woolled sheep, both in
summer and winter, differs somewhat from tliat of the fme-
woolled, and as for reasons before given, we regard the raising
of sheep for mutton and lamb, as of vastly more consequence
to the majority of the farmers of the Commonwealth, than
growing them solely for their wool, we shall in these remarks
refer mainly to the meat-producing sheep, such as every farmer
should own, in number according to his condition, from five to
fifty. Li such flocks, we gather from the returns, the ewes
usually drop their lambs before going to pasture, because they
are easier attended, can be better cared for, and the lambs are
much safer. As a Berkshire farmer says, he would ratlier see
his " lambs all safe in the yard, than to run round the pasture
and pick after the crows and foxes."

With the majority of those whose principal sheep husbandry
consists of that most profitable branch of agric\iltural occupa-
tion, raising lambs for market ; the lambs having been dropj)cd
in February, March, and fore part of April, (of which we shall

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 121

speak further under the head of Winter Treatment,) do not all
go to grass, many being sold from milk and meal early, the
others go with the ewes to pasture, and are taken away in June
and July. There is a difference of opinion among the best
farmers, whether it is the most profitable course to have the
lambs dropped in February, to feed them wholly with meal and
hay, and sell them never having eaten grass ; or to have tliem
dropped later, and giving no meal, letting them to pasture with
the ewes, sell them later at a much lower rate. The first lambs
dro])ped and fed with meal sell from 84 to 86.50 each, and
are fit to go to market from the first to the middle of May.
Five dollars each is a ruling price for first-rate lambs for some
weeks, and then they decline, till finally the grass-fed lambs of
July fetch only 82 or 82.50. The cost of the meal to the lambs
being the only objection to the first course, the advantages
gained are several. In the first place the price obtained for the
early fed lambs, is considerably more than the extra keeping
added to the price of the late lambs. A dollar's worth of meal
is all the additional feed except the trifle of hay, which for a
twelve weeks' lamb would be very small. The manure from the
high fed lambs would be quite an item. Coming early, at a
season when farmers are not crowded with work, and that,
mostly about the house and barn, the ewes and lambs would be
more closely watched, and the proportion of loss much less ;
then the twin lambs, of which there should be two-thirds, and
their dams could be kept better and with more uniformity. And
finally, the money received for the lambs, comes just when the
farmer wants it, and when he has nothing else to convert into
money so easily and profitably.

Before turning to pasture, the operation of " tagging," or
" clatting," so called in England, should be performed. Sheep,
on going out from dry to green feed are very apt to scour, and
the long locks of wool on their tails and beneath them, become
matted up and very filtliy, interfering with the health and com-
fort of the sheep. To prevent this, the straggling locks likely
to be fouled should be carefully clipped away.

It is frequently the case, that on first turning out the flock,
some of the finest and healthiest lambs, full of health and play,
will be soon after found dead, without any apparent cause.
An intelligent farmer of Berkshire County, who had suffered

122 BOxVRD OF AGRICULTURE.

in tliat way, suspected that the lambs becoming heated by play,
laid down upon the cold, damp ground and became paral} zed ;
since that, his practice has been to turn them out at first only
for a short time, and then returning, they lie down on the litter
made under the sheds, and he has never since lost any. In
turning sheep to pasture, perhaps the first thing is to see that
the fences are secure ; poor fences or walls will soon teach sheep
to jump and ramble. One jumping sliecp will lead a fluck any-
where, and there is no remedy for the habit once acquired, but
death to the sheep, or unreasonably high fences. A flock may
by care, be kept within bounds, and hardly allowed to know
that they can jump; the larger breeds of sheep are more quiet
than smaller ones, and less liable to ramble. Every humane man
who has seen the anxiety of sheep to escape the burning midday
sun, will see that his flocks have shade of some kind ; and if the
pasture is deficient in this, will provide an artificial shelter.

Sheep ought to be supplied with water in a pasture, for
although they will live without it, the fact that they will drink
when they are allowed, shows that they require it, and we are
decidedly of the opinion that no pasture should be unwatered.

Salt is indispensable for the health and thriftiness of a flock,
and should be given in quantities varying from two to four
quarts to the hundred sheep, once a week, increasing as the
season advances. It stimulates the appetite, materially assists
the digestion of food, and tends generally to prevent disease and
to promote the health ; it is fed on flat stones or more properly
in troughs.

The use of tar applied to the noses of sheep is recommended,
and it is often put into the troughs where salt is given, that they
may smear their noses with it ; many believe that the smell of
the tar is of itself healthy, and a preventive of, and remedy for
colds, catarrh and lung diseases, but as a protection against the
fly that in July and August deposits in the nostril of the sheep,
the egg producing the grub, which ascends into the head, it is
invaluable ; the smell of the tar is repulsive to all insects, and
a free application of it is most effectual.

Sheep are usually shorn in this Commonwealth from the fifth
to the twentieth of June, having been washed from five to fifteen
days previously. Tlio limits of this rcitort will not admit of
our going into the details of these operations and we must leave

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 123

tliern, regretting that there are so few men who shear well, so
few girls who spin well, and so few women who weave at all.

The period of gestation of ewes, as before stated, is from one
hundred and forty-fonr to one hundred and fifty-two days ; the
time at which they will receive the ram, depends somcwliat on
the time at which the lambs were taken away, and also some-
what on their condition ; it is a common remark that they will
receive the ram about the time of the first frosts, in the last
of August or the first of September. The time when they will
be put together, will be controlled by each farmer's views as
to the time when he prefers to have his lambs dropped. For
the early market lambs, September and October will be the
proper time, but for the fine-woolled lambs, or any others
which arc to be kept, November and the early part of Decem-
ber will do, so that the lambs shall be dropped when the ewes
can have good pasturage and a full flow of milk. Where the
lambs arc to be kept np and fed with meal, and additional
food can also be given to the ewes if necessary, there is no ques-
tion as to the desirability of having twins dropped, and one
point in making or selecting a flock, should be to get twin-bear-
ing and good milking ewes ; breadth and depth of loin and a
wide spread between the hind legs, giving room for a large
udder, are good signs of a milker. Mr. Youatt says : " If a
farmer has pasture enough, and good enough, twins are highly
dcsiral)le, for at only the usual expense before the yeaning
time, the number of his lambs is doubled, and the pasture being
good, and the lambs well fed, there will be very little difference
in health, condition or value between the twins and the single
lambs." The twins are generally obtained from ewes that are
three, or four, or five years old. The disposition to twinning is
luidoubtedly hereditary ; there are sometimes rams that have
the credit of being twin-getters, and that faculty usually
descends to their offspring, but this is oftener the case with
regard to the ewe, agreeably to the old English couplet,

" Ewes yearly by twinning rich masters do make,
The lambs of sufh twinnors for breeders go take."

Tiic female of every species has far more to do with the unu-
sual midtiplication of the offspring than has the male ; and the
farmer who wishes to increase liis stock through the medium of

124 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

twins may go some ways toward the accomplishment of his
object l)y placing liis ewes on somewhat better pastnre and
allowing theni a few tnrnips or other stimulating food, before
the ram is let with them.

Mr. James Bird, of Berwickshire, in Scotland, in a prize
essay, which received the gold medal of the Royal Agricultural
Society, says : " To insure a large proportion of twins, the ewes
have a short time before, and during the procreative season,
a liberal supply of green food given them, such as rape or tur-
nips ; at one time the former was thought absolutely necessary,
from its being believed to have a stimulating effect in their
prolification ; now, however, turnips, when given in sufficient
quantities, are found practically to be equally efficacious.
Either rape or turnips, experience has proved, assist more suc-
cessfully towards the desired result, when given a week or so
before the ram is let among the ewes. The sex may also be
somewhat controlled, the animal at procreation being in the
most vigorous and active condition, will be most likely to
impress on the offspring its own sex. A ram w"ill serve from
forty to sixty ewes, according to his age and condition ; if
two years old, the first number is enough for him. A very con-
venient and important thing to do is to raddle the ram when
let to the ewes, or smear his brisket with red ochre, or lami>
black mixed with lard. Every ewe served is thus marked, and
those which are not, may be supposed to be barren, and should
be fattened. The age of a sheep is told by its teeth ; from twelve
to fifteen months old the two middle front teeth are shed, and their
place is supplied by two broader teeth ; two of the lamb teeth
continue to be shed annually, and their places supplied with
the permanent ones, till the sheep becomes, what is called full
mouthed, at nearly five years of age, having the eight broad
teeth.

A great and very general mistake among our farmers, is that
of allowing sheep to remain out late in the fall, even till after
snow covers the ground, without any additional food. After
the middle of November the grass has been so repeatedly frozen
and bleached out by the autumnal storms, that there is but very
little nutriment left in it. The food that sheep eat goes to
support life, to form fat and wool ; they fill their bellies with
this dry, worthless, dead grass ; but there is nothing there to

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 125

make fat or wool, which, when it stops growing, becomes dead
at the root ; when later in the season the farmer finds his sheep
poor and losing, he gives them a more generous treatment, it
goes to the formation of new wool, but not to the renewal of
that fleece, which naturally comes off as spring advances. There
is no animal so difficult to revive, and bring up to good condi-
tion, as a sheep which has been allowed to run down and grow
poor.

WINTER TREATMENT.

We now come to the winter treatment of sheep, and the first
requisite is to see that they have good and sufficient protection
against the cold and storms of our New England winter ; most
of those who made returns to us, say that they keep their sheep
in yards, with a comfortable shed to run into when they choose.
Protection they must have to be kept in a thriving condition, and
to keep flesh and wool growing. Experiments made by Lord
Ducie, a few years ago, show positively, that even in the com-
paratively mild climate of England, with the thermometer at
44°, sheep kept under sheds consumed one-fifth less food than
those in open fields, and produced one-third more meat, making
a difference of nearly fifty per cent. Clear water is also neces-
sary, all the better if running. Salt is also nearly as important,
as during the summer months, to promote appetite and assist
digestion, though it is said that a too free use of it to ewes with
lamb, may produce abortion. The sheds and yards ought to be
thoroughly and frequently littered. In feeding, one very essen-
tial element is, always to feed about the same time of day, at
sunrise in the morning, at noon, and about an hour before dark,
that they may eat and lie down. Sheep do not eat as well in
the dark ; during the short days of the winter the noon feed is
often omitted. They should always be kept and fed separately
by themselves, and not with cattle or any other stock ; if fine-
woolled, not over one hundred in one enclosure or yard ; fifty
would be better ; if of the larger breeds, not over fifty. Too
much care cannot be exercised in feeding ewes with lamb ;
they ought not to be fed very high, nor with very rich food just
previous to parturition ; there is danger of causing too large a
flow of very rich milk, which seriously affects the lambs. A
sheep eats from three to three and a-half per cent, of its weight

16*

126 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

a day of good hay; this would be reduced by the addition of
half a pint to a pint of beans, grain, linseed meal, or the cotton-
seed oil meal, for fatting sheep, and a gill for store sheep.
Beans and cotton-seed oil meal are the best articles on which to
feed sheep.

A change of food is very desirable for sheep, and the use of a
few roots will be found most advantageous. "We give part of
a table compiled by some of the most eminent agricultural
chemists and writers of Europe, showing the comparative value
of different articles of food, — good meadow hay being taken as
the standard.

100 pounds of good hay are equal to—

90 pounds of clover,
374 pounds of wheat straw,*
442 pounds of rye straw,
195 pounds of oat straw,
839 pounds of mangold wurtzel,
504 pounds of turnips,
276 pounds of carrots,

59 pounds of oats,
45 pounds of beans,
45 pounds of pease,

60 pounds of Indian corn,
45 pounds of linseed meal,

45 pounds of cotton-seed meal.

This, however, shows only the relative value of these articles
' as food ; another and most important item to the Massachusetts
farmer, is the value of the manure made from these various
articles of food.

Now we know the manure of different animals is of very
different value, — and quite as much difference in fertilizing
vakre is found to exist in the manure of each animal according
to its food. In all the returns we have received, sheep manure
is called much more valuable than common stable manure ; the
proportion is not exactly given, because none of our farmers
have tried accurate experiments, and because its value is so
varied by the litter, and other foreign substances composted
with it. The tables of Boussingault and Poyen which are good
authority, give 36 pounds of sheep manure as equal to 100
pounds of common farm-yard manure, and this we apprehend

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 127

corresponds pretty nearly with the experience of our farmers.
The tables of Mr. Lawes, an English agricultural chemist,
farmer and writer, give the money value of the manure made
from different articles of food, which we will not give in detail ;
showing that roots have small manurial value ; hay has more ;
then Indian corn ; beans, linseed meal, and cotton-seed meal,
which has the highest value ; a ton of it producing four times
the value of manure that hay does : or in other words, as much
as four tons of hay, worth from $50 to f 60, while the Union
Oil Company sell their cotton-seed meal at Providence, for
8^6.50 per ton, so that it must be great economy to use it ; and
we know farmers who have perceived very great gains in the
value of the manure made from it ; it is also superior to any
other feed for producing fat, wool, and inducing a great flow of
milk in ewes or cows. Linseed meal is so shamefully adulte-
rated, that it can rarely be found pure, while the cotton-seed meal
as yet unadulterated, is believed to be quite equal to pure
linseed. The tables which we have given, although prepared
with great care, may not be correct, or rather may not corres-
pond with the opinions of, and results obtained by our own
farmers, owing to differences in climate, habits of animals,
method of feeding, and other causes, but they undoubtedly
approximate to the truth, and are valuable if they only provoke
criticism and actual experiments.

As the time approaches when the ewes will drop their
lambs, they should be looked after with especial vigilance
and patience ; they should have good milk-producing food, like
rowen hay, or a few roots at that time. Those which are just
about lambing, should be removed for a while to some quiet
place ; if allowed to lamb in the sheds with the other sheep, the
ewe is likely to be knocked about, the lambs to be run over, and
separated from their dams, and when this happens, they are
very apt to perish. If the lambs come in very cold weather, it
is necessary to watch for them, pick them up immediately,
carry them into the house, wipe them dry, and presently
return them to the ewes. In that way we have no difficulty in
saving every lamb. As a general thing, the ewes require no
assistance in parturition ; they sometimes refuse to recognize
their young, but if held once or twice for the lambs to suckle,
they generally make no farther trouble. The ewes and lambs

128 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

should be kept separate for a few days from tlie remainder of
the flock, and the ewe should hare good food.

At two or three weeks, tlie lambs that are to go early to the
butcher will begin to eat meal, and gradually increasing will
at the end of four months eat nearly a quart a day. For such
lambs it is common to have a separate pen under the shed, with
a constant supply of meal for them, which they get at through
an opening too small to admit the other sheep. Castration and
docking are necessary operations, usually performed when the
lambs are about a fortnight old, though some very skilful
flockmasters prefer to wait two or three weeks longer. Docking
is necessary as a matter of comfort and convenience to the sheep.
At the time of performing these operations the lambs should
be kept close in the yard ; if turned out and allowed to play
they will be likely to bleed.

Some care should be exercised upon the ewes at weaning,
especially those from which the lambs are taken early, lest
garget or inflammation of the udder should take place ; they
should be put on the poorest pasture or lightest feed for a few
days, to check as much as possible the flow of milk. Some
farmers are in the habit of driving off" the lambs at once to
a distance, and of occasionally milking those ewes which seem
to suffer. Another way which we have tried successfully is to
shut up the ewes in the barn, giving them simply hay, turn-
ing the lambs into good feed ; after twelve hours we let in the
lambs for a short time to suck ; then separate them for twenty-
four hours ; and then allow them to suck for the last time ;
they arc then separated beyond hearing, and both lambs and
ewes do well. This part of a flockmaster's duty should secure
much more attention than is common. The large, mutton-
producing, twin-bearing sheep of England, have much more
milk, and are more liable to suffer than the Alerinos from
neglect of the udder.

Our attention has been called in some of the returns to the
thoughtless and cruel manner of catching sheep by the wool ;
the skin of the sheep starts readily, and if a sheep caught in that
way, springing violently to escape, should be killed within
a few hours, spots of clotted blood beneath the skin, would
show where he was caught, and how strong his efforts to
break away. They should be caught by the hind leg and neck ;

SECRETABY'S REPORT. 129

the best way is to have a crook, or hook of about an inch and
a half bend, on a hoe handle, catch this around one hind leg at
the gambrel joint, and draw the leg from the ground, when
the sheep on three legs become quite helpless, then seize the
leg with the hand, and pass the other arm around the. neck, in
this way the animal can be easily, and securely handled ;
especially should this be the case in attempting to handle
ewes heavy with lamb.

A few words on fatting sheep may not be out of place.
Immense numbers of sheep are yearly brought from the north
durins: the months of October and November into this State to
be fattened ; with no means of estimating any but the little
county of Franklin, there are not less than 15,000 sheep fed
there in tlie winter, all to go to market as soon as may be.
While some practice feeding fat sheep four times a day, the
general opinion seems to be that three times will do; grain is
usually fed whole to sheep to save grinding, though the economy
of it is questionable. Some feed a mixture of corn and oats
ground together, linseed meal when they can get it pure, and
cotton-seed meal which is always so.

Roots are very valuable to feed sheep, and beans. Some feed
their sheep with grain, the first thing in the morning ; but the
better opinion is that midday is the proper time to feed roots
and corn, good hay morning and night. In judging of the
fatness of a sheep, beside handling the loin and brisket, a nice
point is on the ribs between the breast bone and fore leg. Some
depend on a full neck vein, but about as true a test as to the
ripeness of a sheep, is the thickness of fur on the tail.

DISEASES OF SHEEP.

We are fortunately in this Commonwealth exempt from most
of the worst diseases incident to sheep in England, and other
portions of this country. While we do not propose to write a
medical treatise, yet it seems proper that we should notice some
of the more common ailments mentioned in the returns made
to us. In speaking of the diseases of sheep, however, it is
eminently the case that prevention is better than cure. Almost
all the diseases to which our sheep are subject, may be pre-
vented by proper housing from cold, storms and wet, by plenty
of good feed, and by a judicious allowance of salt at all times.

130 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Of all the domestic animals, sheep, it is well known, are the
most delicate in their organization and constitntion, and too
often they lack the commonest care and attention. A little
close observation of the condition and requirements of a flock,
with prompt attention to the prevention of disease, would secure
us an almost entire immunity. But if a farmer allows his sheep
to be exposed on frost-bitten herbage, to the cold storms of No-
vember, he needn'^ be disappointed if they come in with a cold
and a cough, or catarrh. If he keeps them all winter on dry
hay alone, without roots or salt, he may expect stretches. If
from that, he turns thera out to rank feed in the spring, they
will scour, but all these difficulties may be prevented.

Catarrh or Cold is very common at the fall of the year,
particularly if the season has been very wet, or the flock much
exposed to cold storms. Keeping sheep too close in ill-ventilated
stables, will also produce that, and other diseases of the lungs.
The membrane lining the chest, nostrils, throat and wind-
pipe becomes inflamed, a considerable discharge of mucus
takes place, and a cough is produced, from which the animal
may recover of itself, and usually does with a little care, though
the inflammation may extend to the lungs and prove fatal. The
effect of a cold is at least to retard the improvement of the
animal, and every severe case should be met with attention.
Warm shelter and good nursing in mild cases, will usually
effect a cure. If the symptoms are more severe, a mild dose
of purgative medicine should be tried.

Foot Rot is an exceedingly troublesome disease which pre-
vails more or less wherever sheep are kept, though there is
less complaint of it in our returns than we might have ex-
pected. While it is not generally fatal, by its irritation and
the lameness it produces, it robs the animal of its flesh to the
great injury of its owner. Whether or not the foot rot is con-
tagious is still an unsettled question in England. Some of the
most eminent agricultural writers and veterinary surgeons doubt
it, among whom are ]\rr. Spooner, Dr. Blacklock, Mr. Read,
and Prof. Dick. The prudent course, however, where it ap-
pears, Avould be to remove immediately every infected sheep
from the flock, and not to allow any sheep to go on a pasture
where such have been recently kept. The foot rot is only found
on low or moist lands, and is supposed to arise from the hoof

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 131

not wearing down as it does on stony ground, but growing
through the warmth and moisture, to an unusual length. It
exists to a greater or less extent in every situation tliat has a
tendency to increase the growth of hoofs, without wearing them
off. The treatment of tliis disease is uniform. The sheep
should be taken after a rain, or having been driven through
water to soften the hoofs, every part of the overgrown and dis-
eased hoof should be pared away witli a sharp knife ; all the
bloody, ulcerated, diseased portion of the foot carefully cleansed,
and the feet dipped in a solution of blue vitriol and vinegar, hot ;
this proves a very effectual cure. This pestilent disease should
not be confounded with " the fouls," to which sheep are some-
times subject, but which is not contagious. This is readily
cured by a little solution of blue vitriol or spirits of turpentine,
followed by a coating of warm tar. Perhaps the difference of
opinion as to whether or not foot rot is contagious, may be ac-
counted for by the fact that there seem to be two different dis-
eases, arising from distinct causes, and discovering different
symptoms.

In the very yaluable essays written for the Royal Agricultu-
ral Society, the distinction is clearly drawn between the common
" foot rot," and the " epizootic foot rot," or murrain. The
first is pronounced not contagious, the last is eminently so.
Mr. Finley Dun, an English writer of acknowledged authority,
says : " In the treatment of murrain the principle of non-
intervention must be carefully recognized ; palliative measures
only are justifiable ; all endeavors to arrest the disease, or pre-
vent the eruption, arc injurious. True, the clearing the foot
from all filth, removing the superfluous or irritating horn, and
placing the animals on good dry pasture, are in most, cases all
that is required until maturation, when much the same treat-
ment is required as in common foot rot, bathing with acetate, or
oxide of zinc, or solution of vitriol. Immediate and thorough
isolation is imperative on the first discovery of this disease
among a flock.

Grubs in the Head, according to Dr. Blacklock, are caused
by the gadfly, which deposits its eggs during the summer and
autumn in the nostril, causing great pain and irritation. They
soon hatch, and the larvai find tlieir way up the interior of tlie
nose to the front of the head, where they remain and grow till

132 BOARD OF xVGRlCULTURE.

the foUowinf^ spring. To prevent the attacks of this miscliievous
insect, a thorough application of tar should be made to the
noses of the sheep, at the beginning of July, and again at the
first of August. As before mentioned, it may be done by
smearing the troughs where salt is fed. Although neither Dr.
Blacklock, Youatt, nor Spooner considers these as at all dan-
gerous to sheep, remaining as they do in tlie nasal passage and
frontal sinus, not in contact with the brain ; yet as they cause
considerable irritation to the animal, they should be removed.
Tobacco smoke is an effectual remedy, and easily applied by
taking a common pipe half filled with tobacco lighted, passing
the stem well into the nostril, then folding a rag over the bowl
to protect the lips, blow vigorously through it. Another rem-
edy, pronounced thorough by an experienced flockmaster, is a
strong decoction of tobacco injected up the nostril — this will
destroy the grub, and cause the sheep to blow it out.

Poison. Sheep are often killed by eating the leaves of the
low laurel, (^Kalmia angustifolia,} sometimes called " lamb-
kill ;" perhaps it is not as generally known that the leaves of
the mountain laurel, or "spoon-wood," {Kalmia latifolia,') are
equally fatal. A farmer in Franklin County lost sixty from a
flock of two hundred, this fall, which strayed from a good feed
of after-math grass, into an adjoining pasture, to eat laurel and
die. This plant, like other vegetable poisons of the same
nature, probably produces a fermentation in the stomach of the
sheep, which attempts to throw off" the poison by vomiting.
The animal becomes dull and stupid, swells a little, and is con-
stantly gulping up a greenish fluid which it again swallows. In
the early stages, if this greenish fluid be suffered to escape, the
animal generally recovers. To effect this, gag the sheep by
taking a stick six inches long and two inches thick, secure it in
the animal's mouth by a string from each end tied over the
head ; the fluid will then as it comes from the stomach escape ;
a drench of milk and castor oil is also recommended. Lard
made into pellets, and put down the throat, is said to be
effective.

The Scab, a troublesome and nasty disease, is common to

■ sheep all over the world ; it is decidedly contagious, and is also

induced or developed by filth, bad keeping, and by exposure to

wet and cold weather. It is found to be caused by the acorns,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 133

a minute insect, wliicli, burrowing in tlic skin, forms a pustule,
which breaks, causing the " scab." The sheep infected with it
are restless, scratching and rubbing themselves, and tearing off
the wool. When closely examined the skin will be found to be
red and rough with patches of scab, particularly on the shoulders
and back. It is a most contagious disease, and if once intro-
duced among a flock, the farmer may rest assured that unless
the diseased sheep is immediately removed, every sheep in the
flock will become infected. It seems to spread among the sheep
not only by direct contact, but by means of rubbing places, and
it has been proved, by a distinguished German naturalist, that
the insect will live through a whole winter off from the sheep ;
and it often happens that when a farmer has got rid of his
tainted flock, and covered his pastures with a new one, the disease
has broken out again, and this has arisen from contact of the
sheep with the old scratching places, such as fences, stones, or
trees. An effectual remedy, and the cheapest and most con-
venient is tobacco. A preparation of tobacco, invented by
George Jaques, and sold by Fisher & Company, of Boston, has
been used by some of your committee, for ticks, and by other
most reliable flockmasters, for the scab, and has proved so
useful that we do not hesitate to recommend it ; it is put up in
nice packages of any quantity, all distinctly marked ; it is of
the consistence of tar, very strong ; one pound of it, costing
fifty cents, is diluted in twelve gallons of water, and the sheep
either dipped in it, or it is turned upon their backs, and then
squeezed from the wool into a tub ; it is sure death to ticks,
and is believed to be an effectual remedy for the scab.

Scours or Diarrhcea frequently attack lambs, and sometimes
full grown sheep ; the causes are generally too sudden a
change from dry to green food ; salting too freely in the spring
when the grass is young and flashy ; commencing to feed grain
in too large quantities ; and exposure to sudden transitions of
weather. Diarrhoea can be easily arrested by mixing a small
quantity of pulverized alum in wheat bran, and feeding it a day
or two.

Stretches is a disease which commonly occurs in flocks which
are kept exclusively on hay or other dry food, and is very often
fatal. The sheep affected with it will alternately lie down and

17*

134 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE.

rise up at brief intervals, and refuse every kind of food, fre-
quently stretching itself, and manifesting signs of distress. .It
is now generally understood that it proceeds from costiveness,
and may be prevented by an occasional feed of apples, potatoes,
or other roots. Two table-spoonfuls of castor oil, or one ounce
of epsom salts will prove an effectual remedy, if not too long
neglected.

Ticks, when very numerous, greatly annoy and enfeeble
sheep ; after shearing, they leave the sheep for the long wool of
the lambs, which should, in about a fortnight after shearing, be
dipped in a preparation of tobacco before described, and which
is perfectly fatal to the ticks. Sheep ought also to be examined
when put up in the fall, and if infested with these vermin, to
have a dip of tobacco. No doubt a little sulphur occasionally
fed with meal or salt, will make a disagreeable stopping place
for the ticks, without doing the sheep any harm. While we
would again insist on prevention as necessary to the profit and
comfort of the farmer, and to the health and safety of his flock,
it is sometimes necessary to administer physic to sheep, and we
quote from Mr. Spooner on that subject : " It is necessary that
medicine should be given as a liquid, otherwise it would enter
the rumen, (or paunch,) and remain there an indefinite time,
producing an uncertain effect or perhaps none at all ; it should
be allowed to trickle slowly down the throat so as not to strangle
the animal."

We have now, according to our ability, endeavored to dis-
charge the duty assigned us by the Board, and perhaps have
attempted more than was originally contemplated. We are
quite aware that the preceding pages are open to criticism, but
they have been prcfpared with some labor, and with the fullest
appreciation of the importance of the subject to the farmers
generally of Massachusetts, for whom they have been written,
with the earnest hope that they will carefully examine the sub-
ject, and see whether with their common farms and limited
ranges of pasture, the production of mutton and lamb is not
one of the most profitable branches of the business of farming.

We have also that interest in, and fondness for the subject,
which always attends familiarity with this most gentle, useful
and profitable of our domestic animals ; and we confess to a

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 135

strong sympathy with that enthusiastic old English writer, who
declares " the behavior of sheep as fascinating under any
circumstances."

James S. Grennell,
s. h. bushnell,
Cyrus Knox,

Committee.

Another subject of apparently increasing importance, demand-
ing tlic most minute and careful investigation, is that embracing
the diseases of the plants of the farm and the garden.

Tlie committee appointed to conduct this investigation, pre-
sented the following

REPORT

ON THE DISEASES OF VEGETATION.

The Committee upon the Diseases of Vegetation would
respectfully report that we have attended to the subject confided
to us, and although laboring against the great difficulty, pre-
sented by the fact, that our field of observation is new, and fur-
nishes no works of reference which can give much aid in our
researches, we yet feel that something is being accomplished
which will lead to valuable results as the investigation of the
laws and causes of vegetable disease progresses. We believe,
indeed, that the report upon the " potato disease," published in
the Transactions of the Board, has so far satisfied the public
mind as to have become the chief cause of the cessation of the
conflicting and utterly unscientific newspaper articles, which
previously to that report were published so numerously by the
whole American press.

In reference to that disease, which has unfortunately been
very prevalent in many places during the past season, we
would say that we have examined it extensively, and find no
reason, iu any way to modify or contradict any of the statements
of the committee who made the report alluded to. That differ-
ent varieties of the potato show very different powers of resist-
ing the disease, every farmer must have noticed, and it has been
clearly manifested during the past year, that those kinds which
most readily take on the disease are those which make the most

136 BOARD OF ACxRICULTURE.

rapid growth, and present soon after the appearance of the
blossom buds, a disposition to cast off those buds witliout even
an attempt to mature them, or when inflorescence takes place,
it is not followed by the formation of capsules or balls. Among
the varieties which we have carefully examined, we think the
following list may be taken as showing the relative tendency to
become diseased, those yielding most readily to the malady
being placed first in order, and the most hardy being last.
Chenango, Lincoln Seedling or Jenny Lind, Long Red , Seals Foot,
Danvers Red, Black Chenango, Davis Seedling. We do not give
this list as having any value beyond our own observation of a
few varieties, as it would of course be very much modified by
an increased number ; but we have given it, as it may aid culti-
vators in determining what varieties it will be most prudent to
cultivate or reject.

Disease has shown itself very extensively in many varieties
of the Bean, in some cases so extensively as seriously to injure
tlie crop and lesson its value. The pod, after being nearly at
mature size, exhibits dark spots, usually over the inclosed ker-
nel, and whenever this spot is seen, the bean beneath it, although
often growing to full size, presents an appearance of having
been frostbitten ; and when these are numerous, as is often the
case, the labor of removing them is so great as entirely to eat
up all the profit of the crop. This diseased appearance com-
mences invariably upon the outside of the pod, and gradually
works its way inward to the kernel, and so far as wc have made
it the subject of particular investigation, would seem to be not
unlike the potato disease in its general character. It appears
to attack all varieties, whether early or late, bush or })ole beans,
and is worthy of a more extended and careful examination than,
we have yet been able to give it.

Our attention during the past year has been mainly directed
to an examination of the disease of the apple tree, which was
briefly described in our report of last year, and which we regret
to say, is to be met with in all parts, if not in every orchard of
the State.

The disease shows itself very commonly in this way'. A
vigorous tree is grafted by the usual process of cloft-grafting.
For two successive years the scion makes a strong and healthy
growth, but at the end of this period the bark around the stock

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 137

where it was sawed off for the insertion of the scion is fonnd to
look as if stained with some black substance like ink poured
over it, and often has shrunk away in some places from the
wood, which looks as if charred in the fire. In two instances
only out of the hundreds examined during the past year, like
that above described, only two have recovered by the sjjontane-
ous efforts of nature. After the disease has shown itself in the
manner described, its progress is very rapid in a downward
direction, until it reaches the origin of the limb in which it
originated, at where it usually, but not invariably ceases.
During its progress nature makes constant efforts to effect a
process of healing by which to arrest the disease, which not-
withstanding, passes without any check over the barriers wMch
she endeavors to erect in its course. Often the bark thickens
to such an extent that the limb appears as if swollen, but uni-
formly has the burnt appearance so characteristic of the disease.
While speaking of this subject in connection with the process
of grafting, it may be well to state that the disease has never
shown itself, so far as we have examined it as a consequence of
that method known as crown grafting, and if this fact should
prove to be uniform, and to be confirmed by more extensive
experience and observation, it will be valuable, and may bring
this method of grafting into more general use. The effects
which we have described often follow the trimming of trees by
the saw, and this would have been considered under the same
head with grafting, and as presenting a uniform cause, but for
one consideration. In regard to grafting, we know, with com-
parative certainty, the period of the season at which the process
was performed, while the trimming of an apple orchard is
attended to at more irregular times, to suit the convenience of
the operator, and if the season has any connection with the
results of which we are spcakhig, it becomes important to deter-
mine whether tlie diseased spot was operated upon in the early
spring, the autumn, or in winter. In examining this point,
some results have been arrived at which it may be well to relate.
Some orchardists have practised for years the trimming their
orchards in the month of October, and others upon any pleasant
day during the late autumn and. winter. On trees thus treated
ive have not yet found the disease. Taking this fact in connec-
tion with that already alluded to in relation to crown grading,

138 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

whicli of necessity must be performed after the period at which,
in tiie common parlance of tlie farmer, the bark begins to slip
easily, \re think if our observations are confirmed the time of
trimming an orchard will assume great importance. It would
appear that any serious bruising of the bark is sometimes fol-
lowed by the disease, and of course if the wound is occasioned
by the plough or cart-wheel upon the trunk of the tree, it must
be much more serious in its results than when the access of the
disease is in a small limb. We do not intend to offer any
theory in regard to the manner in whicli the disease is brought
about or what may be its precise nature. Careful observation
shows plainly that the disease does not always commence in the
same way, as in many instances the wood is first attacked,
while in others it appears confinedto the outer surface of the bark.
It may be of interest to determine whether any particular
varieties are peculiarly liable to suffer from the devastating
influence of this scourge. AVe have not thus far been able to
settle this question by facts sufficiently extensive to give reliable
results, since varieties which in one locality are soon destroyed,
in another manifest the greatest degree of vigor, and obstinate
resistance to the influences which cause the diseased action. A
single variety may be regarded as an exception, since all the
cultivators who have tried it give their testimony so far as
inquired of, to its uniform liability to a very destructive form
of the disease under consideration.

» This variety is the Sops-of-Wine, and it is well for tlie fruit-
growers that this peculiar liability to decay does not belong to
a more valuable variety of the apple. A theory prevails very
commonly among orchardists tliat the disease in question is
occasioned by the action of the sun during hot summer months,
and many individuals have defied us to point out its existence
except in situations having an exposed southern aspect, and in
such cases we have always been able to indicate its presence
upon portions of the trees where the sun could never have
exerted any direct action. It is sufiicient to overthrow this
theory to state, that parts of the tree most protected from the
sun's action are quite as liable to perish by the infiucnce of this
destroyer as are those brought in the most direct manner under
the influence of his rays, and instances are not very uncommon
in trees which liave grown up wild in the dense forest.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 139

Wo have tlius noticed the chief points of interest npon this
important snbject, so far as we have at present investigated the
snbject, by no means pretending that fnture observation may
not lead to modifications of opinion in reference to it, and
urging npon all persons interested in such matters, to aid
in forming correct ideas, well grounded upon facts in reference
to the nature of the disease described, and the best method of
dealing with it.

• John C. Bartlett.

W. S. Clark.

At the same meeting, the committee, in continuation of the
subject as presented in the Report of last year, pp. 103-114,
submitted the following

REPORT

ON ROOT CROPS.

Your Committee have found it necessary in order fully to
consider the economy and the necessity of the root crop to the
farmers of Massachusetts to present by comparative tables the
commonly accepted facts as to the nutritive value of the various
crops which are generally cultivated by our farmers. We have
gathered from the sources of knowledge open to us many facts
which seem to carry evidence of their importance to every ob-
serving mind, and which have been confirmed in our own expe-
rience or in the experience of farmers personally known to us.

Carrots, Mangolds, Swede Turnips. — Many of the state-
ments in circulation of an immense yield of these crops, and of
wonderful results in feeding the same are known to be unreli-
able. The average product and value of these crops must be
taken if we would prudently consider the expediency of enter-
ing upon their cultivation.

140

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

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SECRETARY'S REPORT. 141

Root Crops as Food for Man. — Next to cereal crops as food
for man, follow root crops. In variety and excellence of "flavor,
so comprehensive and universally excellent, meeting the wants
of the appetite in all seasons of the year, and the conservator
of health : in substance, gratifying and satisfying " the sys-
tem." Root crops have become, at least to man, an indispen-
sable need. The farinaceous vegetables are cultivated on a
broader belt of earth than the cereals : their improvement in
quality has kept pace with civilization. First in value for the
support of the vital forces is the potato. The predominance of
saccharine juice in the parsnip, carrot and beet, entitle these
roots to a more general appreciation. The potato, originally
" a sea shore plant," thriving best in a hilly, rocky soil, not-
witlistanding it has been multiplied into hundreds of varie-
ties, (and planted in every variety of soils remote from the
sea,) has not changed its essential farinaceous qualities. These
changes have perhaps weakened the vigor of the root.

Cnllivation. — The following mode of cultivation has been
practiced with economy on Long Island : —

Manure the land, plough, harrow, plough again with swivel
plough, drop the seed (medium size or large potatoes cut
lengthwise) twelve or fourteen inches apart — in the third fur-
row opened, and at the same time, sow plaster, ashes and salt, 'in
the furrow. Cover six inches in ploughing the next furrow,
and so continue until the field is planted over. When the
potatoes break ground, harrow crosswise. Use the cultivator
once or more as necessary. Follow the cultivator with the
double mould board plough, thinning out the weeds andlevelling
up the earth about the stalks with a sickle hoe. In harvesting,
(after pulling the tops) run through the rows with the potato
digger plough. Store the crop as soon as possible after it is
taken from the ground. If the potatoes show signs of decay it
is very doubtful whether any yet discovered misnamed specific
will arrest the evil. Potatoes when properly stored in the
manner stated for mangolds have been kept as safely as the
mangolds through a long season.

Instinct may have been a sufficient guide for man, to induce
him to learn the cultivation of the vegetable kingdom. But it
is not the less important tliat his sense of their value and ne-
cessity to the race should be quickened by a knowledge of the
18*

142 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

chemical connection which exists between the vegetable and
animal kingdoms. The marked adaptation of the living vege-
tal)le to the wants of the living animal, " is exhibited in the fact
that the animal finds ready formed in the ripened plant all the
most important sul)stances of which his own body is composed."
Tlie ghiten is the same in composition with the constituent of
the muscle ; the oil witli the fat of the body ; the phosphates
go to the formation of bone ; the starch and sugar aiford the
necessary element for the purposes of respiration. Farmers
who have provided for their household Kohl Rabi turnips,
(pleasant flavor similar to the boiled Frencli chestnut) and
cauliflower as well as cabbages, Jerusalem artichoke as well as
potatoes, Salsify, (oyster plant,) Skirret, (sugar root,) scorzo-
nera, (a delicate root palatable and nutritious,) as well as the
parsnip, beets,— with other well known vegetables, (so com-
monly used in cities,) such farmers never fear the surprise of a
neighbor's dropping into a vacant seat at their dinner tables.
Of the eight hundred varieties of nutritive plants chiefly used
as food by man, (see History of Plants, &c., by Dr. Funger,)
our farmers cultivate but a very few of them.

Healthful Lijluences of Vegetables. — Dr. Chadwick, of
London, the well known English calculator of cause and effect,
in fixing the period of human life, says that the blood which is
impelled through the system is constantly carrying off the de-
cayed particles of the human organism at the rate of six to
seven pounds daily — about three pounds of which is carbonic
acid, and the remainder decomposed animal matter. The
whole body is renewed on the average of once in about thirty
days. We know tliat " doctors disagree," yet if one-half the
quantity stated be true, — the farmer's first concern is his
health, — it is almost his entire capital. Without a full
measure of health and spirits he cannot have the strength and
courage to front exhausting toil.

We would remind the readers of this report of the following
truths, by many doubtless remembered, but by many more
possibly forgotten.

All vegetable substances consist of two parts, one called the
organic part, which burns away in the fire and which forms
ninety to ninety-nine from out of every one hundred pounds,
and one called the inorganic i)art, which does not burn away.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 143

Tlie organic part of plants consists of four elementary bodies,
known by tbe names of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
For the nature of which and confirmation of statements relat-
ing to agricultural chemistry see Johnston's Catechism of Agri-
cultural Chemistry, with an Introduction by John P. Norton.
The inorganic part of plants contains from eight to ten dif-
ferent substances, viz., potash, soda, lime, magnesia, oxide of
iron, oxide of manganese, silica, chlorine, sulphuric acid or oil
of vitriol and phosphoric acid, which for convenience may be
divided into three classes, alkalies, acids and neutrals. All
plants require constant supplies of food in order that they may
live and grow, which supplies they obtain partly from the air
and partly from the soil : organic food to support their organic
part,. which they take by their leaves from the air and by their
roots from the soil. " Some leaves have as many as one hun-
dred and seventy openings or mouths in a square inch." The
leaf of a plant seems to have three offices, power of absorption,
that of assisting in the chemical preparation of the sap or life
of the plants and that of evaporating its water. Hence we
find that plants which are well exposed to the sun's rays make
the most rapid growth.

They obtain their inorganic food from the soil alone. A soil in
which plants will grow consists also of an organic or combusti-
ble and of an inorganic or incombustible part. The organic is
derived from the roots and stems of decayed plants and from
the dung and remains of animals and insects of various kinds.
A rich soil contains about one-twentieth of its weight in organic
matter. This organic matter supplies the organic food which
plants draw from the soil through their roots. It necessarily
diminishes when the land is frequently ploughed and cropped
and wot properly manured. To keep up the supply of organic
matter in the soil, see Johnston's Catechism of Agricultural
Chemistry. The inorganic or earthy parts of the soil serve two
purposes : First, " as a medium in which the roots can fix them-
selves so as to keep the plants in an upright position." Second,
it supplies the plants with inorganic food. The inorganic. part
of the soil consists chiefly of sand, clay and lime ; but contains
small quantities of the same substances which exist in the ash
or inorganic part of the plants. These substances are dissolved
by the rain and spring waters and sucked up by the roots of

144

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

the plants. See Johnston's Catechism of Agricultural Chemis-
try. The vegetable fixed to one spot has the mechanical impulse
to seek the supply of food requisite for its development. Unless
the food is found in the soil, or artificially supplied by us, the
crop will be a failure ; for, as plants are intended as food for
animals, nature has provided that they shall not obtain their
perfection without taking up a supply of the ingredients which
serve as food for man and beast.

Composition of soils of different degrees of fertility, (Johnson' sS)

Fertility with-

Fertility with

out Manure.

Manure.

Orojanic matter,

97

50

40

Silica, (in the sand and clay,)

648

833

78

Alumina in the clay, ....

57

51

91

Lime,

59

18

4

Majinesia, ......

8^

8

1

Oxide of iron,

61

30

81

Oxide of Manganese, ....

1

3

\

Potash,

o

trace.

trace.

Soda, } I ■ a \l
^, , . > chieily as common salt,
Clilorme, ^ ■^ .'

w

—

Sulphuric acid, .....

2

3

-

riiosphoric acid,

H

If

-

Carbonic acid combined with the lime

and magnesia,

40

4|

-

Loss,

14

H

1,000

1,000

1,000

Says Johnson : " The soil of which the composition is given
in the first column, has produced crops for sixty years without
manure, and still contained a sensible quantity of all the sub-
stances required by plants. That in the second column pro-
duced good crops when regularly manured ; it was in want of
three or four substances only, Avhich were given to it by the
manure. The third was hopelessly barren ; it was in want of
many substances which ordinary manuring could not supply.

The materials which enter into the formation of roots, as
before stated, must be found in the soil or artificially supplied ;
for it is also a fixed law of nature that the leaves and the roots
shall perform their functions simultaneously — and it is also
believed (the experiments hitherto made go to prove this decla-
ration) that if one of the iin[)ortant ingredients of the plant

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 145

be absent, the others, although they may be present in sufficient
quantities, will not be used. As in animals, where the food
taken into the stomach is digested and formed into bone, muscle,
fat, hair, etc., so in the plant, the nutritiye portions must be
found in the earth (and the air) to be resolved into wood, bark,
grain, or some other necessary part.

Disinlep;ration of the Soil. — The usefulness of all the ingre-
dients of plants originally found in the soil depends on their
exposure. If they are in the interior of particles which fibrous
roots cannot penetrate, they cannot be made use of until the
particles are pulverized, and their constituents exposed, in
order that they may be dissolved by the rains, and thus prepared
to be sucked up. Professor Hitchcock has shown by survey
and analysis of the soils of Massachusetts, that there are in
different sections of the State, nearly barren soils having the
same chemical composition (unpulverized) as some of the most
fertile soils in our country. The fertile soils leave their parti-
cles ^«e/// pulverized, and in consequence yield enormous crops.

Use of Roots as Food for Animals. — We have shown in this
report and by reference to the authorities named below, that
animals, like plants, are made up of organic and inorganic
matter. In order therefore, that they may be perfectly devel-
oped and meet the reasonable expectations of those who rear and
feed them, they must receive as food all the materials required.

The carrot, which contains pectic acid, in its nature closely
allied to the gums, is valuable for this reason above all others —
the acid gelatinizes food in the stomach, and thus renders it
more digestible. Gluten repairs the daily waste of the muscle
or lean part of the body. The gluten of plants is exactly the
same thing as the muscle of animals. For fattening, oil-cake,
or Indian meal can be fed with roots and coarse hay, or straw,
more profitably than in any other way. For product in milk,
feed turnips freely in addition to other food. For improvement
of quality in butter, feed carrots.

Gathering and Storing- Roots. — Carrots should be gathered
before hard frosts occur. They begin to decay very soon if
frozen. Gather mangold wurtzel as soon as the tojis begin to
show the effect of cold. Ruta-bagas will continue to increase
in size (if tliey have been well fed) until the frost wilts down

14G BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

the leaves. Gatlier all kinds in dry weather — leave in heaps
two or three days to dry before storing. If the grower has not
dry cellar room to store his roots in, they may be preserved as
follows : " Dig a pit six feet wide, ten or fifteen feet long, and
eiglitcen inches deep, pile the roots as steep and high as the
base will carry and kccj) them ; cover the lieap with a layer of
straw six inches thick, and follow witli a covering of earth six
inches deep, patting it down so that the rains shall not furrow
it ; set one or more tile ventilators loosely filled with straw ;
in covering the heap throw np the earth so as to leave a ditch
around it about two feet from the base line, being sure to so
construct it as to drain the water away ; cover the heap with
an additional six inches of earth as late as the season will allow.
Ileaps of roots, however stored, must be properly ventilated —
vegetable matter is invariably decomposed by heat, hence the
frequent loss invariably resulting from a want of care in storing
til cm. Let them be kept at as low a temperature as possible,
above freezing point. All growers of root crops know by dearly
bought experience, that if the crop is not properly manured or
cultivated, it is the most costly crop gathered on the farm.

If a farmer is unable to provide the requisite manures, or if
he has not the time to cultivate the crop, and is unwilling
to pay for the labor required, (the chief labor being required in
the busiest season of the year,) he will suffer less pecuniarily,
by getting along as best he can, without attempting to raise it.

Tlie farmers of England are governed by reason and circum-
stances in the cultivation of carrots, mangolds, ruta-bagas, and
white turnips, which do not bear directly uj)on the farmers
of New England. The farmers of England yearly furnish the
London market alone with the mutton of 1,500,000 slieep, and
more than a quarter of a million of fatted oxen and calves, and
pigs in proportion. The English market can always be sup-
plied with grain from abroad, but it must be supplied by the
home farmer witli beef.

Besides this stern fact, the soil of England is in better tilth
than ours. In consequence of the necessity for rearing and
fattening so much stock in England, the lands are kept in a
better condition than we are ready or able to keep ours. The
climate of England also favors the economy of a root crop.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 147

The turnip being there fed in part on the land to store cattle
and sheep, at a saving of labor over us, the manure is thus left
without cost or trouble where it is wanted. The turnip in
England is the second crop in a season. It is also a coarse
crop in every plan of rotation, and is, moreover, demanded by
the land owner of the tenant. The English farmer cannot
prudently feed his accustomed quantity of oil meal and slravj,
without recourse to roots. The writer is persuaded, from the
attention which he has been called upon to give to the subject,
that on most farms, as a staple crop, Indian corn will do more
for tho farmer of Massachusetts in the way of enabling him to
make bolh ends of his farm accounts meet, than any other crop
which can be as generally cultivated, except hay. How much
food and what kind is most cheaply gained from a given quan-
tity of land and labor, is the question which has not yet been
answered. The farmers of Massachusetts must share the cost
of doubt and the loss of delay in the answer. The writer is,
however, decidedly of the opinion that root crops should claim
a larger share of the attention of the farmers of the State.

Proposed Rule for Measuring Bushels, by J. H. Yuman, of

Alabama.
Take a rod ^^--^-^-^ inches long, 11 inches wnde, one-half inch
thick ; divide its length into four equal parts, numbering them
with large plain figures as shown by the example. Divide each
division into ten equal parts with smaller figures. The larger
divisions will be the lineal dimensions of a cubic bushel, and
the smaller ones tenths. To apply the rule, take the three
dimensions — length, breadth, and depth, of the roots as stored
in bushels and fractions — multiply them together, and the result
will be in bushels and tenths of a bushel. The side indicating
bushels may be divided into four equal parts as proposed
above, and then each division also into four equal parts*, which
would denote fourths of a bushel. Example. — To make a box
or bin to contain a given number of bushels, fix upon its length
and width in bushels as per rule. Divide the number of bush-
els in its contents by the product of its desired length and
width, and the result will be the length and depth. The other
three sides of the rule might be divided into other measure-
ments, as yards, feet and inches, and found very useful. Dis-

148

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

appointments so frequently arise from miscalculations as to the
quantity of manures to be realized from the stock kept, that
we add the following: —

For every thousand pounds of hay, the average droppings
will be about 2,400 pounds of solid manure, weighing fifty
pounds to the cubic foot. We also copy the following table
from Johnson, by which the farmer may evenly apply his ma-
nures to the land.

DISTANCE OF THE HEAPS.

Number of heaps in a load.

1

s

a 4

5

a

7

8

o

lO

3 yards,'

.538

269

179 1.34

108

90

77

67

60

54

3^" • • •

395

168

132

99

79

66

56

49

44

39

4 " ...

303

151

101

75

60

50

43

37

33

30

4^ " ...

239

120

79

60

47

39

34

30

26

24

5 « ...

194

97

64

m

38

32

27

24

21

19

H " ...

160

80

53

40'

32

26

22

20

17

16

0 » ...

131

67

45

33

27

22

19

17

15

13

6^ " ...

115

57

38

28

23

19

16

14

12

11

7 " ...

99

49

33

24

19

16

14

12

11

10

71 " ...

86

43

28

21

17

14

12

10

9

8

8' " ...

75

37

25

19

15

12

10

9

8

7

Si " ...

67

33

22

16

13

11

9

8

7

6

9 " ...

60

30

20

15

12

10

8

7

6

5

01 " ...

53

26

18

13

11

9

8

7

6

5

lO " ...

48

24

16

12

10

8

7

6

H

4f

Example 1. — Required, the number of loads necessary to manure an acre
of ground, diving each load into six heaps, and placing three at a distance of
4^ yards from each other ? The answer by the table is 39.

Example 2. — A farmer has a field containing 5^ acres, over -which he wishes
to spread 82 loads of manure. Now 82 divided by 5i gives 15 loads per acre*
and by referring to the table it will be seen that the desired object will be
accomplished by making 4 heaps of a load and placing them 9 yards apart, or
by 9 heaps 0 yards apart, as may be most convenient.

Your Committee venture to make the following calcula-
tions:—

A. S. McKinstry, of Hampden County, raised corn the past
season on three separate fields (soil ranging from a good valley
loam to a sandy soil) ; average product, 45 bushels corn per
acre ; average cost per bushel, for ploughing the land, j)lant-
ing, and necessary cultivation, was 28 cents (labor of harvest-
ing offset by value of soft corn and the stalks for feeding) ;
add for converting some into meal, six cents per bushel, making

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 149

one ton of corn meal cost $12.24. Raised one-half acre
carrots. Product, 345 bushels ; cost for labor, six cents per
bushel ; allow 500 bushels as the product of an acre on tlie
average, (from the change of seasons) ; labor would be 8^Vo
cents per bushel, or (40 bushels to the ton) $3.34 per ton.

Cost of labor on a premium crop of Mangold "Wurtzels, raised
by William Birnie of Hampden County. Yield of 2-^ acres, 95
tons ; labor, $120.50 ; same cost of labor on the average crop,
25 tons, $1.93 per ton.

Taking hay as the basis of calculation in feeding, hay costing
for labor stored in the barn, $3 per ton. Cost for labor of an
equivalent in corn meal, 1,100 pounds, (being the average by
the actual experiments made in feeding, see tables annexed.)

Proportion of labor to be charged to same, . . $6 71

Cliarge the crop with two cords of manure to the acre
over that buried in the soil of the grass-land, pro-
portion at four dollars per cord, would be, . . 4 40

$11 11

Carrots, 5,660 pounds (by experiments reported in tables
annexed, equal to one ton of hay) at $3.34 per ton ; add for
extra manure, four cords, $16 per acre. Carrots, (500 bushels,)
121 tons to acre, $1.21 per ton, making $4.55. 5,660 pounds,
at $4.55 per ton, $12.86.

Mangold wurtzel, calculated in the same manner, 7,920 pounds
equal to one ton hay. Labor, $1.93 per ton ; manure, same
allowance as for carrots, per acre, 61 cts. per ton, making $2.54
per ton. 7,920 pounds, at $2.54 per ton, $10.06.

Comparative profit of the same crop for market, allowing the
value and condition of the land cultivated to be naturally the
same.

One acre in hay, yield two tons ; take the market value

near cities, fifteen dollars per ton, .... $30 00
Value of labor in securing and marketing same, . 8 00

Profit on one acre, ..... $22 00

19*

150 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

One acre com, yield 45 bushels ; 2,520 lbs. at 1.] cts., $37 80
Labor, $15.30 ; manure, 88, . . . $23 30

Marketing, 1 00

Total, 24 30

Profit on one acre, ..... -$13 50

One acre carrots, 12.] tons ; value in cities, 812 per ton, 8150 00
Cost of labor, 841.70 ; marketing, 812.50, . 854 20
Extra manure used up by the crop, . . IG 00
Allow for fluctuation in demand and price,

83 per ton, . . . . . . 37 50

107 70

Profit on one acre, ..... 842 30

One acre mangold wurtzel, 25 tons ; marketing at 85, . 8125 00
Cost, calculated as above, 8o3.50 ; marketing, 825, . 88 50

Profit on one acre, ..... 836 50

From the closest calculation and observation which it is
prudent to make, it is evident that the farmer who lives remote
from market, and who must convert the product of the dairy
into butter and cheese, cannot alford to raise mangolds or carrots
extensively.

In the vicinity of towns where milk can be sold without much
labor, where hay finds a ready market at 815 per ton, and au
equivalent in corn can be raised (including a charge for the
manure) for 811^^0, and an equivalent in mangold wurtzels can
be raised (including the charge for manure) for 8II3VV' ^*' ^^
economy to feed sparingly of hay, (substitute oat straw cut
while the grain is in the milk,) sell the surplus hay of the
farm, and crowd the corn and root culture.

For ini[)()rtant information upon the subject of this report,
we refer the reader to United States' Reports on Agriculture,
vol. 1849-50, pp. 231, 2G6 ; vol. 1851, pp. G2, G5, 66, 154 ; vol.
1854, pp. 92, 423 ; vol. 1855, pp. 155, 262 ; vol. 1856, pp. 8,
455, 492; vol. 1857; vol. 1858, pp. 45, 109; vol. 1859, pp.
103, 114, 136, 372, 373, 446, 449, 452 ; Ellsworth's Americau
Swine Breeder ; Waring, Elements of Agriculture ; Milch Cows

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 151

and Dairy Farming, by C. L. Flint, pp. 118, 122, 197, 199, 1-^7,
396; Grasses and Forage Plants, by C. L. Flint, pp. 177, 217,
219, 220, 231, 235, 236.

George M. Atwater.

The Committee appointed by the Board to consider the
subject submitted the following

REPORT

ON HORSES.

Among the circulars distributed by this Board, in the Spring
of 1859, for the purpose of obtaining from the intelligent farm-
ers of the State, information upon a variety of topics of great
importance in agriculture, was one upon horses, in which the
following inquiries were proposed :

1. "What has been the ratio of increase in the number of horses in
your town compared with the census of 1850?

2. "What breeds of horses are raised in your town, also imported into
your town, and where from ?

3. "What breed do you consider as the best for all work ? Name also
the breed best for roadsters.

4. Name the average value of each class, when three years and seven
years old.

5. Name the owners and number of breeding horses owned and kept
in your town, and their pedigree.

G. "What, in your experience, is the average life of horses, also of
mares ?

7. ^Yhat months of the year do you pasture horses ? What other
food do you give them while pastui-ed?

8. On what are they most advantageously fed when stabled ? Name
the cost per month of keeping horses in full working condition, estimating
hay SI 5 per ton, oats 50 cents, and corn $1 per bushel, roots $12 per ton.

9. AVill you state such facts concerning the history, breeding, and
management of the horse in your region, or economy in the construction
of stables ; improvement and economy in making of harnesses ; modes
of shoeing, &c., which you consider of general interest?

At the meeting of the Board in January, 1860, it was found
that but few replies to these questions had been received by the

152 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Secretary, and the Committee requested permission to postpone
their report until the next yoa.v, trusting that by personal obser-
vation and study, if not by circulars, they might procure some
useful knowledge upon the interesting and important subject
confided to them. In the hope that some other method of in-
quiry might induce persons, known to be engaged in breeding
horaes, or interested in the improvement of this kind of stock,
to furnish the desired information, another circular was issued
and sent by mail both to a large number of private individuals
and to the secretaries of the various agricultural societies of
the Commonwealth for distribution. In this circular the fol-
lowing questions were propounded : —

1. Please to state the name of any stallion, or stallions, used for
breedina; purposes in your vicinity ; al;40, the pedigree, (when perfectly
reliable,) the height, weight, age, color and speed ; al-o, the number of
mares covered during the season of 18.59, the price of service, and the
general character of the colts got previously ; also, the names of the
breeder and present owner.

2. AVhat is the cost of rearing, in the best manner, a colt to the age
of three and a half years, reckoning the loss of labor of the mare Avhen
unfit to work, and the value of grass, hay, oats and roots consumed by
the colt ?

3. What breed of stallions will be most likely to get valuable road-
sters when crossed upon the mares of your vicinity ?

4. "What breed of stallions are best adapted to protluce horses for
general farm purposes ?

5. Considering the eminent success of breeders in Vermont during
the last ten years, and the present high prices of first rate driving and
draught horses, might not horses, in your opinion, be bred profitably by
stock-growers generally in this State ?

G. Inasnuich as the bi'ced of cattle best suited ibr the dairy in the
grazing districts of this State are commonly esteemed too light for
draught, and those best adapted for fattening are sutficieiuly mature for
market helore they are old enough to work ; and since many of the im-
proved agricullural implements now in use require horse-power; and
.since horses work more I'apidly and for a much greater number of years
than oxen, would it not be more economical to employ, in most cases,
horses, or mules, instead of oxen in the performance of farm labor?

The Committee arc under obligations to the following gen-
tlemen for replies to their inquiries, namely : —

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 153

John Brooks, Jr., Princeton ; William C. West, Chilmark ;
Salmon Capen, Windsor ; F. A. Willard, Harvard ; D. E. Mcr-
riam, Chelmsford; Silas Root, Westfield ; S. F. Marsh, Stur-
bridge ; M. R. Van Deusen, Alford ; A. D. Briggs, Springfield.

Inasmuch as there was very little difference of opinion among
those who answered tlic circulars upon the subjects discussed,
it has been deemed expedient to embody their views with those
of the Committee in the report now respectfully submitted.

REPORT ON HORSES.

General Daumas, of the French army, wrote to the celebrated
Arab chieftain, Abd-el-Kadir, for information respecting the
Arabian horse, and received the following account of his origin :
*' When God wished to create the horse. He said to the south
wind, ' I wish to form a creature out of thee, be thou con-
densed,' and the wind was condensed. And God formed a
chestnut horse, saying, ' I have called thee horse ; I have
created thee an Arab, and 1 have given thee a chestnut color.
I have bound fortune on the mane which falls over thine eyes ;
thou shalt be the chief among animals ; men shall follow thee
whithersoever thou goest ; good for the pursuit as for the re-
treat, thou shalt fly without wings ; riches shall repose in tliy
loins and wealth shall be made by thy intercession.' Then he
marked him with the sign of glory and of happiness, a star
shining in the middle of his forehead. After the creation of
Adam, God called him by name and said, ' Choose now be-
tween the horse and the borak.' Adam replied, ' The more
beautiful of the two is the horse.' And God said, ' Excellent!
thou hast chosen thy glory and the glory of thy sons ; while
they exist my blessing shall be with them, because I have not
created any thing that can be more dear to me than man and
the horse.' "

Never, perhaps, have the noblest qualities of the horse, his
inestimable value to man, and the universal admiration in which
he is held, been more eloquently expressed than in this beau-
tiful specimen of Oriental style.

An English writer upon the natural history of the horse —
Col. C. H. Smith — has given utterance to similar sentiments,
in these words : —

15i BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

" In the domestic horse we l)ehold an animal equally strong
and l)cautil"ul, endowed with great docility, and no less fire;
with size and endurance joined to sobriety, speed, and patience;
clean, companionable, emulous, even generous ; forbearing, yet
impetuous ; with faculties susceptible of very considerable educa-
tion, and perceptions which catch the spirit of man's intentions,
lending his powers with the utmost readiness, and restraining
them with equal willingness ; saddled or in harness, laboring
clieerfully ; enjoying the sports of the field, and exulting in tlie
tumult of battle ; used by mankind in the most laudable and
necessary operations, and often tlie unconscious instrument
of the" most sanguinary passions; applauded, cherished, tlicii
neglected, and ultimately abandoned to the keeping of bipeds
who often show little superiority of reason, and much less of
temper."

When and by whom the horse was first subjugated for the
service of man is unknown, but it is certain that from the re-
motest times he has been the most useful and most highly
prized of domesticated animals.

He was at first, doubtless, employed as he is even to the
present day among many nations, exclusively for riding. In
the account given in the Bible of the destruction of Pharaoh
and his army in the Red Sea, is the earliest record of the har-
nessing of horses to vehicles of any description.

Tlie ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, gave much at-
tention to the breeding of fine horses, and, as appears from
their writings, and from antique paintings and statues they were
by no means unsuccessful. Terrentius Varro, who lived more
than nineteen hundred years ago, wrote the following excellent
directions for selecting a good colt, showing that he, at least,
had very correct notions upon the subject.

" AVe may prognosticate great things of a colt, if, when run-
ning in the pastures, he is ambitious to get before his companions ;
and, if in coming to a river he strives to be the first to plunge
into it. Uis head should be small, his limbs clean and com-
pact, his eyes bright and sparkling, his nostrils open and large,
his ears placed near each other, his mane strong and full, his
chest broad, his shoulders flat and sloping backward, his barrel
round and compact, his loins broad and strong, his tail full and
bushy, his legs straight and even, his knees broad and well-knit,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 155

his hoofs hard and tough, and his veins large and swelling all
over his body."

In more modern times the Arabs have been the most careful
and judicious breeders of the horse from about the year 1200
until near the beginning of the nineteenth century, and even
now their beautiful steeds will com[)are very favorably with
those of any other nation. At present almost every country in
the world contains one or more breeds of horses exhibiting
certain peculiarities of form, size, gait, temper and color, which
are the result of their origin and treatment, and of the soil and
climate where they are produced.

One of the most valuable qualities of the horse is his remark-
able ability to conform to the circumstances of his situation.
Wherever upon the earth man can dwell and furnish a supply
of food, there the horse will live, and by his peculiar combina-
tion of speed and strength, render inestimable service. The
reindeer wilts and perishes in the summer even of a temperate
climate, while the ass, the camel and the elephant, are unable
to endure severe cold, and are adapted for useful labor in warm
countries only ; but the horse is found in excellent condition
both among the frozen snows of Iceland, and the burning sands
of Africa.

Linna3us, in naming and classifying the animal kingdom,
called the horse Equus Caballus, and the ass Equus Asinus.
To the same genus belong the zebra, the quagga, and other
living species, besides two fossil species, which seem to form the
connecting link between the noble horse and his asinine con-
geners.

"Whether the innumerable varieties of the horse have all
descended from one original species, or whether tliere exists
any where a race whose ancestors have always been untamed,
it is, perhaps, impossible to determine.

Wild horses are found most abundantly upon the vast plains
of northern Asia and the inland portions of South xVmcrica,
but exist also in many other sparsely populated regions. It is
but little more than three centuries since the Spaniards brought
the first horses to this continent, yet so rapidly have they
increased, that immense numbers are now annually slaughtered
for their hides only.

156 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

When Cortcz landed his army upon the coast of Mexico, in
tlie year 1519, he had witli him sixteen horses, which were
objects of wonderful curiosity to the simple minded Aztecs, who
never dreamed of using any quadruped, either under the sad-
dle or for draught. The strange and beautiful creatures were
almost worshipped, and furnished with the softest couches for
their repose, and a bountiful feast of roast turkey to satisfy
their hunger.

"Wild horses are generally of a reddish-brown, or a dun-color,
with black manes and tails. They arc of small size, rarely
exceeding thirteen hands in height, or eight hundred pounds in
weight, but are remarkably hardy, and often fleet, having been
known to carry a man one hundred miles in eight hours.

The Tartars are said to make journeys of four hundred miles
in three days without any considerable time for rest, feeding
their horses only an occasional mouthful of grass. In such
excursions each man employs three or four horses, changing
from one to another as they become weary.

The habits of wild horses differ somewhat in different coun-
tries, though they are always gregarious, as many as ten thou-
sand being often seen together. The herds are generally under
the guidance of an old stallion, who lias fought his way to the
head in many a bloody conflict with his rivals, and whose superi-
ority is acknowledged by his companions. Tiie Tartar horses
will sometimes attack and trample in pieces a strange horse
unaccompanied by man ; but in South America, where wild
stallions are frequently caught with the lasso, and compelled to
serve under the saddle, they arc often liberated by their former
associates, who gallop around the helpless travellers in the
wildest confusion, producing such an excitement among the
enslaved horses as renders them perfectly ungovernable. The
action of such a herd has been thus graphically described: —

" A trampling troop ! I sec tlicm come,
In one vast squadron they advance !
I strove to cry — my lips were dumb.
The steeds rush on in phingiiig pride,
But wliere are they tlie reins who guide?
A thousand horse and none to ride !
With flowing tail and flying mane,
Wide nostrils never stretched by pain —
Mouths blooJless to the bit or rein,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 157

And feet that iron never shod,

And flanks unscarred by spur or rod —

A thousand horse, the wild, the free,

Like waves that follow o'er the sea.

On came the troop —

They stop, — they start, — they snuff the air,

Gallop a moment here and there,

Approach, retire, wheel round and round,

Then plunging back with sudden bound ;

They snort, they foam, neigh, swerve aside,

And backward to the forest fly."

The horse, in a state of domestication, is employed under the
saddle for racing, for hunting; in war, for carrying burdens, or
in riding upon business, or for pleasure ; and in harness he is
used for racing, for driving upon the road with light vehicles,
or with heavier carriages, or, finally, for the performance of
ordinary farm labor, or for slow draught.

In England, where the various classes of society are quite
distinct and wealth abundant, horses have long been bred with
special reference to each of the above-named uses, and conse-
quently the varieties thus produced are there found in the
highest perfection.

In order more intelligently to discuss the merits of the differ-
ent breeds of horses, and the proper method of improving our
own, let us first endeavor to become familiar with the charac-
teristic points of the model roadster. By reference to the fol-
lowing engraving and explanations, the name and position of
the important parts of the horse may be readily learned by
those who are unacquainted with them :—

20*

158

BOARD OF ACxRICULTURE.

Points of

Horse.

1. Jluzzle.

9. Loins.

17. Girth.

24. Pastern.

2. Face.

10. Croup.

IS. Point of Shoulder.

2.5. (Quarter.

3. Forehead.

n. Dock.

1!). Elbow- Joint.

26. Thigh.

4. Jowls.

12. Point of Tiuttock.

20. Arm.

27. Hamstring.

5. AVindpipe

& Gullet.

13. Point of Hip.

21. Knee.

28. Hock.

6. Poll.

14. Hip Joint.

22. Shank.

29. Shoulder.

7. Crest.

1.5. Stifle Joint.

23. Fetlock.

30. Humerus.

8. Withers.

16. Flauk.

THE EOADSTER.

The perfect roadster should be from fourteen and a half to
fifteen and a half hands in height, the hand being four inches,
and the measure taken at the withers. When horses, as often
happens, arc considerably higher at the hips than at the withers,
it is proper to take the mean of the measures at these two points
as the lieight of the animal. Some horses rise so rapidly
from the witliers to the neck, that if the measure be taken
in the usual way, a portion of the neck will be included in the
height, whicli sliould be avoided by causing such horses to hold
their heads to tlie ground at the time of measurement.

Horses less than fourteen and a half hands liigh are commonly
pony-l)iiilt and too small for general use. They are not often
possessed of great speed from the shortness of their stride,
although some exceptions have occurred especially among the
ISIorgan horses.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 159

Flora Temple, the fastest trotter over known, is fourteen and
a half hands high, and weighs about eight hundred pounds.
Her stride when at full speed measures sixteen feet, an evidence
of wonderful power in so small an animal. Her legs are so
short and her muscles so perfect, that she gathers with almost
lightning rapidity, and thus outstrips all her competitors. Her
pedigree is uncertain.

Horses more than fifteen and a half hands high have usually
less endurance than those which have not so much day-light
under them. Long-legged horses are often spirited and fleet,
and, as has been said, " will go in a day so far that they cannot
return in a week."

The weight of the roadster should be from nine hundred and
fifty to ten hundred and fifty pounds, though lighter horses are
often very useful and heavier ones may be desirable for special
objects. For fast work, however, one thousand pounds is suf-
ficiently heavy, as the legs and feet of larger horses are very apt
to fail.

The form of the head and the expression of the countenance
are two of the most important points of a horse. The perfect
roadster should have a long, lean, tapering head. Below the
eyes as fine and delicate as is consistent with a large, open
nostril ; and above them as wide, high and full as possible,
indicating a large brain and great intelligence. The face should
be straight and the lips thin and firm, with a tolerably deep
mouth. A convex face denotes generally an honest, rather
sluggish, coarse animal, while a concave one is a pretty sure
evidence of high temper and great spirit and not unfrequently
of decided vice. It has been remarked that horses with faces
either decidedly convex, or concave, rarely possessed good, open
nostrils. The channel between the jowls should be wide and
the windpipe large, free from fat and muscle, and somewhat
detached from the neck. The eyes should be bright, large, not
too prominent and showing but little white. The expression of
the eye reveals the temper, spirit, and courage of a horse, with
great accuracy. Horses with very prominent eyes fear every
thing, and those showing much white around the eye are always
to be feared. The ears should l)e thin, pointed, erect, lively,
and not too far apart. A beautiful, expressive ear is rarely, if
ever, seen on an indifferent horse.

160 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The neck should be rather long and light, tliiii on the crest
and well arched, while the under side should be straight and
well and smoothly joined to the shoulders. A thick, flesliy crest
is usually an indication of a lazy horse. The mane should be
of moderate thickness and length, but not so heavy as to give
the horse a coarse, clumsy, vulgar look. The length and thick-
ness of the mane varies greatly in different breeds. The Arab
and the English Thoroughbred have a short, thin, silky mane,
while the famous Orloff trotters of Russia, are so remarkably
furnished in this respect, that the mane if not trimmed, or tied
up, would trail upon the ground. There is said to be in the
Royal Museum at Dresden, tlie stuffed skin of one of these
horses, which belonged to the last Saxon King of Poland, whose
mane measures twenty-four feet in length, and the tail thirty
feet.

The withers should extend well back and be rather high and
thin.

With such a conformation of head, neck, and withers, a horse
can hardly fail to be intelligent, courageous, spirited, light in
the forehand and, if well-trained, possessed of a pleasant mouth.

The back of a stout, well-built horse, will be broad, nearly
straight, and not too long between the withers and the hips,
although it may be too short for the greatest speed or style.
The loins and hips should be broad and well covered with
muscle. The real power of a horse is greatly dependent upon
the character of these parts.

The rump from the coupling of the hips to the insertion of
the tail should be long, and somewhat sloping, and the tail
properly set on, stout, straight, well-up and tliickly covered with
hair. It has been thought that a stiff dock, and bushy tail
were reliable indications of strength and pluck, but it is certain
that many a worthless horse has carried a splendid tail, and tliere
have been many smart, tough, powerful horses with weak and
almost naked docks. A good tail is however an essential
appendage of a beautiful horse, so important indeed, that art
sometimes supplies the deficiencies of nature. More than one
man has bought a fine team and found to his disgust that the
tail belonged to the harness and not to the horse.

The chest of a good roadster should be deep and full, but
may be so broad as to give him a waddling gait. It is very

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 161

important that the width be great just back of the fore-legs, and
the larger a horse girths, the better. This affords ample room
for the licart and lungs, his most indispensable organs.

The bari'cl, body, or middle piece of the roadster, should be
of fair uniform size, as round as possible, and not too small, or
tucked up, at the flanks. Sometimes, however, horses with
the form of the greyhound have proved to be remarkably
serviceable.

Mr. Darvill, an English writer on the race-horse, speaking of
the form best adapted for great speed and endurance, remarks
that the firm, contracted and yet projecting appearance of the
anus, which should be well closed in by the surrounding parts,
is one of the most reliable evidences of a strong and sound con-
stitution ; and that a horse possessing this proof of good stamina,
with broad hips, stout loins and spacious chest will always be a
good feeder, with excellent wind, and able and ready to run,
even though apparently deficient in carcass.

The last ribs should be long and tolerably close to the point
of the hip, though, if very close, the horse will have less speed,
but more endurance. Long-bodied horses are sometimes hollow,
or sway-backed and are justly considered less capable of severe
labor than those with short, straight backs. They are poorly
adapted for carrying heavy burdens ; but a slight depression of
back just behind the withers, corresponding with the arching
neck, gives a more elegant and stylish figure and does not at
all detract from the general usefulness of the animal.

The shoulder blade of the roadster should be broad, as
oblique as possible, and extend well back at the withers, and
the point of the shoulder should not be too low. The humerus
which connects the shoulder with the fore-leg, although con-
cealed within the abundant muscles of the part, is one of the
stoutest and most important bones. It should be of good
length and so joined to the shoulder blade as to slope rapidly
towards the ground instead of running back under the body.
The motion of the arm will thus be less confined and the fore-
leg will stand in the best position. By this form the horse will
be enabled to extend himself, or reach well, when going rapidly,
and be less likely to stumble or to injure his feet or legs, than
when he carries much weight before, or directly over, his for-
ward extremities. The muscles attached to tlie arm bone are

162 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

very numerous and important and can hardly be too large and
firm.

A perfect form and sufficient power in the fore-quarter seem
to be much more essential to the fast trotting than to the gal-
loping horse. The latter moves by a succession of tremendous
leaps made principally by the hind-quarters, while the fore legs
appear to serve rather to support and steady, than to aid him
in the progression. The square trotter needs a more sym-
metrical and evenly-balanced form, and throws himself forward
almost as much with the fore as with the hind-quarter. The
movement of the trotter, requiring the alternate extension of
the fore legs, renders a broader and somewhat more muscular
breast than is necessary in the racer, quite essential to the
performance of much hard work.

The fore-arm, or upper part of the leg, should be as large,
'hard and strong as is consistent with good action. The knees
■should be broad, deep and firm, and composed of simple bone
'and sinew. The bone on the back of the knee should be
prominent, and the shank, or lower part of the leg, should be
rather short, wide, flat and free from flesh. It is important
that it be not tied in, or too narrow immediately below the
knee. Much has been said about the proper size of the shank
bones and the joints above and below them. One declares the
bone cannot be too small, and another that it cannot be too
large, provided the limb be clean, dry and cordy. The advo-
cate of fine bone affirms, with truth, that such bone is close
grained, like ivory, and is strong enough, because it never
breaks ; while the other says, he knows from experience and
observation, that a stout, durable horse must have rather large,
substantial legs. Fine-boned horses are generally spirited, of
good blood, and have a certain perfection of constitution.
There can be no doubt, however, that large, well-developed
joints are necessary to furnish a sufficient space for the firm
.attachment of the tendons, which cannot be too thick, hard or
•prominent, since they are always proportioned to the power of
the muscles which operate upon them. If, therefore, the other
points of the horse indicate a good constitution, and the form
of his legs be correct, his shank bones will never prove to be of
excessive size. If the shank be relatively short when compared
with the length of the leg, the horse will have a low, long-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 163

reaching stride, and this form is favorable for speed and easy
movement ; but, if the shank bone be long, the horse will step
higher and shorter and have more showy, prancing action.

The pasterns should be moderately long and sloping, since
they are the springs provided to break the force of the concus-
sion when the feet strike the ground. Many of our American
horses have pasterns too short, upright and stiff, and are con-
sequently soon ruined by fast driving.

The feet should be of smooth, firm horn, round, smallish,
low and open at the heel, and with a large, elastic frog. The
form and substance of the foot vary much in different breeds,
so that a perfectly natural, and healthy and durable foot upon
a horse of one kind may have the appearance of a badly dis-
eased foot upon a different breed. Thus, a high-bred, nervous,
fine-boned horse is very apt to have a small, upright hoof,
with narrow heels and a shrivelled, hard frog, while a coarse,
large-boned horse will have large, flat feet, low, and often tender
heels, and an immense, soft frog.

The hind-quarter of the model roadster must be long from
the point of the hip back to the buttock and down to the stifle,
and heavily muscled both upon the outside and between the
thighs. The stifle should be well forward, and the second
thigh, or the leg just below the stifle, should be well furnished.
The hocks should be low, broad, deep and bony, and not too
crooked, because less elegant and more liable to strains. The
point of the hock, as well as the point of the elbow on the fore
leg, should be largely developed for the sake of the increased
leverage thus afforded to the muscles acting upon them.

The four shank bones should be nearly perpendicular when
the horse is standing still, and when he is moving at a moderate
speed they should be carried straight forward without any
swinging from side to side either of the feet or of the body.
Horses remarkable for swiftness, either as trotters or galloppers,
spread their hind legs when going rapidly, and some do so at
an ordinary pace. This is an evidence of strength but has an
awkward appearance, except where the hind feet are carried
past the fore feet by the length of the stride, when the obvious
utility of the motion renders it beautiful. It is important also
to observe that the fore legs should be so joined to the body that
the feet are neither turned in nor out ; since cither of these

164 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

defects will prevent tlie free, movement of the humerus, and
almost compel the lior^e cither to interfere, or to strike the in-
side of the shank, or knee.

The roadster should have a light, elastic step, rather short
and quick and barely liigh enough to clear the inequalities of
the road, as higher stepping horses waste much power and are
more severely jarred when driven fast. He should pick up his
feet nimbly, and move them as if he had them perfectly at his
command, and should put them down at the right time and in
a proper manner, neither holding them awkwardly poised in the
air after the leg is fully extended, nor plunging his toes into
the ground before he has reached forward a suitable distance.

It is much more desirable that the roadster, for general use,
be able to travel ten or twelve miles an houi' for two or three
hours in succession, if necessary, than that he be capable of
trotting a mile inside of three minutes. Very few of the fast-
est horses have a first-rate road gait, although the two qualities
are not incompatible. It is unquestionably true, also, that
horses with the best form and temperament for the highest
flight of speed, especially in running, rarely possess the com-
pact, substantial structure, or the calm, manageable, yet am-
bitious spirit essential to the model roadster. The impatient,
reckless, headstrong disposition of the successful racer, even
with the best management, which is always indispensable, is
very liable to bring disaster upon botli horse and driver when
subjected to the severe trials of ordinary road service.

The skin of a well-bred horse will be thin and soft, and of a
dark color ; and the veins beneath it large and prominent, indi-
cating a well-developed, circulatory system. In regard to the color
of the hair the best and only universally applicable rule is, that
" a good horse is always of a good color." Although color does
not, necessarily, affect tlie usefulness of a horse, yet it does
affect his appearance, so that a fashionable color greatly en-
hances his value. Color is, also, oftentimes the most obvious,
.though not tliG most reliable, proof of the pedigree of a horse.

It is well known that children of parents with dark hair and
eyes sometimes liave light, or sandy hair and blue eyes, and it
is generally found that this peculiarity is derived from some
ancestor two or three generations back. In the same way,
horses may take their color from a grand-sire, or grand-dam,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 1G5

and this will frequently happen iu those breeds which have not
been long established. The celebrated stallion, Ethan Allen,
affords an excellent illustration of this principle. The fact that
he was sired by Black Hawk would, probably, never have been
disputed, if he himself were black. Now, since his dam was
gray, and his famous brother, Redleg, of the same color, with
one bay leg, and his grand-sire, Sherman Morgan, chestnut,
does the light color of Ethan or his stock furnish any good
reason for disbelieving his well established pedigree ?

Nearly all persons have certain fancies and prejudices respect-
ing the colors of horses which are sometimes whimsical enough.
For instance, we are told if a horse has

One white foot, buy lilm ;

Two white feet, try him ;

Three white feet, deny him ;

Foui- white feet and a white nose,

Strip off his hide and give him to the crows.

On the other hand, there is a tribe in northern Africa who
have a special preference for white-faced, white-stockinged
horses ; and there are many persons in New England who con-
sider a star in the forehead, or, at least, a white foot, quite
indispensable to a fine horse. The English regard black horses
as more viciously inclined than others, and esteem this a bad
color except in draft horses. We, however, like Black Hawk
stock, and look upon this color as an evidence of resemblance
to the great progenitor of the breed. Brown horses with tan-
colored muzzles and black points, that is, mane, tail and legs,
are generally reputed to be unusually tough and serviceable.
Dark chestnuts are said to be the most spirited and the most
liable to have contracted feet. This is a favorite color for
Arabian horses, and also for some branches of the Morgans.
Many of the most renowned racers, as Eclipse, Henry, Boston
and Fashion have been of this color. By some it is regarded
as an exceedingly good sign for a chestnut horse to have one or
more small black spots on any part of the body. Others again
look with favor upon a few white hairs sprinkled into the coat
of a bay or chestnut horse. White, or light gray horses, which
always become white as they advance in years, are apt to get
stained in the stable ; and black ones show dust and sweat too

21*

166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

distinctly ; while cream, mouse, and other muddy-colored ones
rarely have a glossy coat which will pay for cleaning. The
piebald or skewbald horse is found wild upon the nortliern
slopes of the Himalaya mountains, and is believed by some to
be a distinct species. They are called the Tangum breed, and
are domesticated in Thibet and in India. Fine horses of this
breed were abundant among the ancient Parthians, Persians
and Huns, and in modern times they are raised in considerable
numbers in Italy, Austria and Prussia, chiefly for military use.
Bucephalus, the famous charger of Alexander, was of this
breed, and, in the frescoes of the Vatican, Raphael has repre-
sented Attila mounted upon one of this color. Piebald liorses
are occasionally seen in this country, but they are usually of
inferior quality, and employed mostly in circuses. The beau-
tifully spotted horses sometimes exhibited are, not iinfre-
quently, white horses artificially spotted with hair dye. The
Arabs often stain the manes and tails of their horses, and in
Egypt asses are colored, striped and spotted in the most fanciful
manner.

The most universally admired color, the one which wears
the best through the entire year, is bright, blood bay with black
points, and to this there can be no objection made except by
those contrary persons who dislike ajiy thing that every body
else likes.

It is generally believed that white legs and feet are more
liable to injury and disease than those which are darker. There
is, doubtless, much groundless prejudice upon this subject, and
many persons of extensive observation deny the principle alto-
gether, asserting that they can discover no difference founded
upon color. However this may be, there certainly is no objec-
tion to black hoofs and legs of a darker shade than the body.

The quality and quantity of a horse's hair are quite as worthy
of consideration as its color, particularly by those who groom
their own animals. A fine, short, thin coat is very desirable,
as a heavy-haired horse can never be thoroughly cleaned with-
out the greatest dilficulty, and when wet with sweat can hardly
be rubbed dry.

As many of the best trotting horses, especially those from the
North, have a thick, shaggy coat, the custom has been adopted
quite extensively in Boston and elsewhere, of clipping, or singe-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 167

ing the whole body so as to leave the hair only about an eighth
of an inch in length. It is claimed by those who advocate this
singular practice that their horses perspire less freely, are less
inclined to colds and coughs, look much better and are more
easily cleaned. In a recent standard English authority upon
the horse, these operations are very highly recommended and
are said to promote the free escape of perspiration, to render
the skin soft and moist, to increase the endurance, wind and
health of the horse and to cause a very considerable saving in
the amount of food necessary to keep him in good condition.

The process of clipping with scissors, or singeing with a lamp,
is very tedious and troublesome and requires much skill on the
part of the operator. It is not probable that the people of Mas-
sachusetts will generally adopt the custom of paying ten dollars
per annum to have their horses deprived of their warm coat
provided by nature to protect them against the inclemency of
our cold and variable winters.

It must not be forgotten that a horse may possess all the
outward excellencies of the model roadster and yet be worth-
less from some defect in his internal parts — his nerves, heart,
lungs or digestive organs. The real speed, or bottom, or value
of a horse can only be determined by actual trial. Hence the
necessity, besides the desirableness upon other accounts, of a
suitable track for the proper exhibition of those qualities which
distinguish very fine horses from their inferior, though perhaps
more beautiful competitors, at agricultural fairs.

It often happens that a horse with some obvious fault of
structure is gifted with surprising swiftness or endurance,
because the exceeding perfection of his other parts enables him
to perform admirably in spite of this defect. As it is impossi-
ble to tell by the looks of a toad how far he can jump, so we
know that horses have run, or trotted well in almost all forms.
Thus Bay Middleton, pronounced to be the best racer of the
last forty years, was of such shape that an excellent judge of
horses declared that, if such a rail as this horse was, should
win the Derby, he would eat him and his shoes afterwards.
Yet he did win, not only the Derby, but every other race in
which he was entered.

The famous racer, Eclipse, was also a horse of this kind, as
his history shows. He was foaled dnring an eclipse of the sun

168 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

in the year 1764, and when one year old was sold at auction for
8375. lie was fifteen hands and a quarter in lieight at the withers
and considerably higher at the hips. His shoulders were oblique,
but so thick at the top that it was said a firkin of butter would
stand on them. Lie was so thick-winded that his roaring, at
fnll speed, could be heard a great distance. One writer says,
'' he puffed and bio wed like an otter, and galloped as wide as a
barn-door." Another informs us that he run with head down,
quite regardless of his rider, wlio could never hold and scarcely
steer him, and that he spread his hind legs so wide at full speed
that a wheelbarrow might have been trundled between them.
His power was enormous, so that he could carry two hundred
and twenty-four pounds with ease, and he usually carried one
hundred and sixty-eight pounds in his races. No horse could
ever pass him and the fleetest of his time could not keep by his
side for a space of ten rods. He never felt the whip or spur
upon any occasion, and in seventeen months won all the prin-
cipal races in England, earning for his owner the handsome
sum of $125,000. When in training for his first race, some
persons endeavored to watch one of his trials. A reporter says,
" they were a little too late ; but they found an old woman who
gave them all the information they wanted. When asked
whether she had seen a race, she replied she could not tell
whether it was a race or not, but that she had just seen a horse,
with a white leg, running away at a monstrous rate, and another
a great way Ijehind, trying to run after him ; but she was sure
he would never catch the white-legged horse, if he ran to the
world's end."

Having vanqviislied all his competitors, Eclipse was with-
drawn from the turf and employed for breeding, and earned as
a stallion not less than $250,000. When he was fifteen years
old, his owner being asked to set a price on him, demanded
fil25,000, cash, an annuity of $2,500, and the privilege of having
six mares served annually by tiie horse. Eclipse died in 1789,
aged twenty-five years, having earned for his fortunate owner
the immense sum of 8o75,000. So great was the reputation of
this horse tliat his sire, Marske, after having been esteemed
almost worthless, and covered mares for $2.50, was purchased
for $5,000 and kept as a stock horse at the highest price proba-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 1G9

bly ever paid for siicli a purpose, namely, $500 ; and some
seasons it is said to have been $1,000 and even $1,500.

THE DRAUGHT HORSE.

The essential points of a beautiful, serviceable horse for rapid
work, whetiier under the saddle, or in harness, having l)een
discussed, the horse for slower, heavier labor — such as requires
severe exertion at a moderate pace, next demands attention.

In this age and country there is no use for the gigantic,
plodding dray horse, which excites the admiration of the
stranger in London or Liverpool ; nor is there a demand for a
very large number of mere draft horses such as were formerly
employed in the transportation of merchandise. For most draft
jiurposes, large, stout roadsters, very properly called horses of
all work, are best suited to the wants of the people in this
Commonwealth.

The famous black draught-horse of England often attains a
weight of more than 2,000 pounds, but such animals are
monsters, and cannot be worked with any profit. In fact these
immense horses serve rather to gratify the pride of their
owners than to enrich them, and the finest of them are bought
by the wealthy brewers of the large cities. Seven of them
before a truck, laden with an indefinite number of beer barrels,
certainly make a magnificent team, very like a team of
elephants in more than one respect.

For use about railroad stations in hauling cars, and for
trucks and other heavy work, especially in the cities, are
wanted a limited number of stout horses from 1,200 to 1,500
pounds in weight. They should have small heads, indicative
of activity and intelligence, short, thick necks, broad chests
and backs, short, powerful limbs, very hard, prominent mus-
cles, and above all things, an honest, self-reliant, unflinching
spirit.

All horses, and especially those whose work is usually per-
formed at this pace, should be taught to walk in a correct and
rapid manner with a cheerful, lively step. A good, active
liorse can be trained to walk a mile in from nine to twelve
minutes, yet most will occupy twenty to thirty minutes in
walking this distance. Of course the faster a horse walks the
more valuable he is for almost any kind of labor, and it is a

170 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

pleasinf? evidence of progress that many agricultural societies
have, the last year, offered premiums for the best walking, as
well as for the best trotting horse.

THE USE AND BREEDING OP HORSES.

Fifty years ago, when there were no railroads and few other
roads worthy the name, iior light wagons, nor mowing, nor
reaping, nor threshing machines, while the world was yet asleep
and men did not care to move faster than four miles an hour,
never having dreamed of a mile in three minutes, there was
little occasion for endeavoring to improve the breeds of horses
in this country. Now the times are changed, and we are
changed with them. The world rushes on and we must, and
therefore the question is continually heard, " Where can I get
a better horse ?" Once people paid some regard to the price of
a horse, but now the main inquiry is, " What can he do ?"
Incredible sums are given for the finest animals, and there are
many buyers where there is one first-rate horse for sale. More
horses are now sold every year for $2,000, and upwards, than
were sold for $200, and over, twenty years ago. Then $100
would purchase one of the best horses, now it will hardly buy
a young and sound one of any sort. During the past year, as
the newspapers inform us, one horse has been sold in tliis
country for $25,000 — and, in England, one for $22,500, and
three others for $15,000 apiece.

Tliis clearly shows that the supply of fine horses is not equal
to the demand, and that intelligent, well-directed efforts to
raise tlicm would be amply rewarded.

The breeding of race horses, whether for running or trotting,
has fortunately never been a profitable business, and never can
be, because where speed is the sole object only the fastest few
are very valuable, while the remainder are not generally well
adapted for ordinary service. Ihit there can be no doubt that
either fine roadsters, spirited, fleet, and hardy, or a larger
slower horse for draught might be bred with great profit almost
anywhere in New England.

To accomplish this successfully it is necessary that the farm-
ers, as a class, should know much more definitely tlian at
present what constitutes a good horse, and understand those
points in the structure, gait and style of a fine colt, by which a

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 171

shrewd horse-dealer is enabled to select him at once from a
dozen inferior ones wliich appear equally valuable to his
ignorant owner. They should also endeavor to become familiar
■with the principles in accordance with which breeding animals
must be chosen and crossed in order to obtain sound, vigorous
colts of the desired kind ; and always study to produce either
superior roadsters, or good draught horses, and not mongrels.
These last will always be too numerous, notwithstanding the
best directed efforts to procure sometlnng else. In this pro-
gressive age, when so many intelligent men are engaged in the
laudable attempt to improve our various breeds of domestic
animals and the standard of excellence is so high, he only
deserves, or has reason to expect, great success, who aims at
raising the very best kinds in the very best manner.

In regard to the economy of breeding horses instead of neat
cattle, or sheep, the experience of the Vermont farmers during
the last twenty years, as well as their present success in the
business, seems to show conclusively that where pastures are
good and cheap no stock can be raised more profitably.

Many of the most successful breeders in Vermont depend
entirely upon the sale of the colt for their remuneration not
only for the actual cost of rearing the same to a marketable
age, but also for the service of the stallion, and the use and
keeping of the mare for the year. It is deeply to be regretted
that so many of them employ for this purpose mares which are
wholly incapacitated for ordinary labor by disease ; but when
an old mare, so far used up as to be sold for $15, produces in
succession three such colts as Ethan Allen, Redleg, and Black
Hawk Maid, it is impossible to convince people that it will not
pay to breed from such.

In nearly all cases of disease, whether of the bones, the
muscles, the breathing or the digestive organs, there is a
constitutional predisposition to such disease before its develop-
ment, and this weakness of constitution will, under the circum-
stances, be increased, and of course hereditary. Fortunately
for the breeder, but unfortunately for the purchaser, this defect
is rarely discovered until after the colt has been put to active
service. For this reason, if for no other, there will always be
an abundant supply of weak and unsound horses.

172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Anotlier very citoiicous practice of breeders in this country
is tliG use of ])opular stallions, at exorl)itant prices, without
any regard to the number of mares which they are allowed to
cover. In England, the best stallions serve only twenty mares
a season, while here they are rarely limited except by the
number of mares offered. Ethan Allen has covered 110 mares
at $100 each, in a single season, and the North horse as many
as 150, at ioO each, for several successive years. The natural
consequence of this excess is that the colts resemljle their sire
less than they otherwise would, and inherit less soundness and
vigor of constitution.

In the best agricultural districts of France and Great Britain,
horses, or mules, are almost exclusively employed in the labor
of the farm, instead of oxen, while neat cattle are bred prin-
cipally for beef and milk. In some parts of the latter country,
the farmers work breeding mares and stallions and sell their
colts when from six to. eighteen months of age ; and in other
districts, they buy colts and use them carefully from the time
they are two years old until they are fit for market.

There are unquestionably many farmers in this State, who
from the peculiar location and character of their land can raise
and employ oxen more advantageously than horses, or perhaps
even than mules, and the object of discussing their respective
merits is simply to induce those, who work oxen because their
fathers did, or because they always have, to give the subject the
consideration which its importance demands.

It is believed to be more economical to work horses, or mules,
instead of oxen, upon farms which require the constant use of
a team, for the following reasons: —

First, it has been estimated in England that it costs more on
a higldy cultivated farm to keep an ox team, than a horse team
ca])al)lc of doing the same amount of labor. In other words,
three working oxen will consume the produce of more acres
than two horses. It has been recently stated that it costs $100
per annum to keep a farm horse in England ; that the average
expense of cultivation upon good farms was $10 per acre, and
the net profit $60 per acre.

Secondly, the man Avho drives good horses imbibes their
spirit, and labors with more activity and courage than lie
would, if accustomed to wait for the slower motions of the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 173

quiet ox. Thus the moral inlluence of horses is, in this
respect at least, of considerable value.

Thirdly, there are many agricultural implements of modern
invention, which can be worked advantageously only hy means
of horses, such as the machines for hoeing, planting, mowing,
raking, threshing, &c. Plorses are also indispensable for going
to mill, to market, and many other places where farmers like
to go.

Fourthly, where the cultivated land is distant from the barn,
the transportation of manure and crops is much more econom-
ically effected with horses. Tlicre are, also, many occasions in
the year, as in ploughing, haying and harvesting, when it is
necessary to accomplish as much work as possible in a little
time, and oxen cannot be hurried.

Fifthly, it is objected to the employment of horses, that there
are places upon many farms, where they cannot or will not
work so well as oxen, as in wet meadows, in the woods, and on
stony or stumpy land. In reply, it may be affirmed that horses
of the right breed, well trained and driven, will perform
admirably where any animal ought to be used, and that upon
marshy ground, with the aid of pattens or rackets, they are
much better than oxen.

An excellent racket has been recently patented by H. B.
Davis, of Lexington, and is for sale at the agricultural stores in
Boston. It consists of a piece of oak board eight or ten inches
square, so ironed that it may be readily attached to the horse's
foot, and with these, it is said a horse will go safely upon any
soft ground where a man can walk. The cost is four dollars
per set.

Sixthly, it is asserted by those who prefer oxen, that they
are less subject to disease and accident than horses.

In consequence of his more ambitious spirit and greater
activity, the horse is undoubtedly more liable to be over-
worked, but, if properly bred and well treated, he will not
often fail until rendered infirm by age.

After the trouble of training them, oxen rarely work more
than three or four years, while horses may be kept in fine
condition, at least, five times as long. It must be acknowl-
edged, however, that this is not commonly done, and that an
immense amount of property is annually wasted by the cruel
22*

174 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

neglect and abuse of horses advanced in years. Men are apt
to imagine tliat as soon as a liorse is a dozen years old, when
he should be in his very prime, they must dispose of him to
the highest bidder, because he will soon become unsalable.
Being sold at a low price, the unfortunate animal generally
falls into the hands of a master deficient in both money and
intelligence, and consequently receives less grain and less care
in his declining years than he enjoyed in early life. He is,
also, often overworked ; his feet are neglected, and he becomes
lame ; his accustomed bed and blanket arc withheld, and he
becomes rheumatic; his teeth are allowed to get out of order,
so that he cannot masticate his food, and then his digestion is
impaired, his strength forsakes him, and he comes to an
untimely end. Who has not been saddened by the thought
of the lamentable fate of old horses ?

Among the many valuable lessons taught at the Fourth
National Exhibition of Horses, held in Springfield, in Septem-
ber, 18G0, was an excellent one upon this subject. Lewis B.
Brown, Esq., of New York, has justly received great commen-
dation for showing to the public how much kind and judicious
treatment will accomplish toward the renovation and preserva-
tion of aged horses. He exhibited a four-in-hand team of
horses, whose average age was twenty-seven years, and whose
appearance and speed were well calculated to modify, very
decidedly, the common opinion respecting the capabilities of
horses in their teens, and to induce reflecting persons to doubt
the expediency of parting with valuable animals for half their
real worth, merely because they were advancing in years. The
nigh leader of this famous team was thirty-five years old, and
had been rescued, fifteen years before, by Mr. Brown, from the
hands of the man, who was about to kill him as worthless, on
account of his great age. The off-leader, though perfectly
blind from an accidental injury, and twenty-five years old,
displayed all the pride, courage and activity of a colt, and as
he came down the home-stretch amid the cheers of the delighted
multitude, was evidently conscious that he was the worthy
object of their admiration. These words of the poet respecting
th^ renowned racer, Lexington, may be aptly quoted with
reference to him : —

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 175

" Lead him forth, the sightless hero !
Hound him group the noblest steeds ;
He will match the proudest horses
Of the famous racing breeds.
Now he hears the hum of voices —
Voices blending in his praise ;
And he longs to meet the glances
Of the eyes that on him gaze."

The average length of the life of horses in Massachusetts is
variously estimated by those who have responded to the inquiry
respecting it, at from seventeen to twenty years, and mares are
thought to live about three years longer than geldings. It is
well known that horses have often been quite serviceable at
thirty years of age, and sometimes even at forty, and it is very
probable that the average life is longer than is generally sup-
posed, as it is absolutely impossible to determine the exact age
of an old horse, except from his history. It is a curious fact that
horses seem to advance in age very gradually after becoming
nine years old, and those which, in the opinion of their owners,
are more than twelve, are very rarely seen.

But, finally, the most plausible arguments in favor of work-
ing oxen are, that yokes are cheaper than harnesses, which
cannot be denied ; and that the ox at last is turned over to
the butcher.

In Hamburg, Vienna, Paris and other cities of Europe, there
are markets for the sale of horse-beef, and it must be confessed
that no good reason can be adduced against the practice of
eating it. The horse is the most dainty animal in the world
respecting both food and drink, and the objection that he does
not, like the ox, throw up the contents of his stomach and eat
it over again, is not important.

The Kalmucks, of Siberia, live almost exclusively upon the
raw flesh of the horse cut into slices, and made tender by being
bruised and steamed under the saddle for lialf a-day. Tiie juice
of the dead horse is thus intimately mingled with that of the
living one, and the flavor becomes exquisitely " horsey." This
meat is washed down by copious draughts of fermented mare's
milk, taken from a bottle of horse-hide which is never rinsed.
The principal dishes at a grand Tartar feast are roasted horses'
heads and sucking colts.

170 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The Iiuliaus of Chili arc said to drink the l)lood of their
mares, which arc slain for food, mixed with alcoliolic liquors,
when they can be procured. They believe that when they die
they will be transferred to a paradise, where they will always be
mounted on fine horses and be eternally drunk.

But, allowing that the flesh of the horse be not eaten, and he
becomes at last nearly, or quite, a dead loss, it does not by any
means follow that oxen can be profitably kept till six or seven
years of age, even though the city butchers will pay a higher
price for the beef.

The English breeders of Short-horn cattle have unquestion-
ably discovered the true secret of raising beef most economi-
cally. They take the animals which have the greatest aptitude
to ripen early, and lay on flesh rapidly, and have them ready
for market at three years of age, thus securing both a large
profit and a quick return.

It appears, therefore, that if superior horses command an
exorbitant price, or cannot be found, and if it be more eco-
nomical to employ horses, or mules, instead of oxen in farm
lal)or, these animals ought to be raised in larger numbers and
of better quality.

Before attempting to state in detail the best method of ac-
complishing these results, it is necessary to describe briefly
those foreign breeds of horses, which seem to surpass our own
in any desirable qualities, and, also, to relate the principal facts
respecting the best American breeds.

BREEDS OF HORSES.

The horses of the Northern States are justly celebrated for
their many excellent qualities, and there are very few breeds
in other countries which siirpass them in any important partic-
ular. The limits of this report will permit the description of
only three foreign varieties, viz : The Arabian horse, including
under this name the horses of Arabia, Turkey, Persia, and
Northern Africa, which are of a similar form and especially
adapted for the saddle ; the English Thoroughbred horse, which
is a variety of the Arabian, improved and enlarged by careful
culture ; and the Clydesdale horse, which is the best draught
horse in the world. These are the only foreign breeds at all
essential in the improvement of our own, and of these the

SECRETx\.RY'S REPORT. 177

Cljclcsdalc is by far the most needed, at present. The improved
Norman horse of France would doubtless prove an admirable
substitute for the Clydesdale in the production of stout horses
for the carriage or for draught.

The Arabian Horse. — This horse is particularly worthy of men-
tion because it is the original stock from which our finest breeds
have been derived. There are, of course, many varieties among
the different tribes and nations of the Levant, but the most perfect
and highly prized arc called the Kochlani, and are found chiefly
among the Bedouins. The pedigrees of these horses are said
to be preserved with much exactness, though not in writing,
and with real oriental exaggeration often extend back two thou-
sand years. Great care is exercised to perpetuate the breed in
the utmost purity, and mares of the best blood and form are
rarely, or never, sold. Stallions, however, are not ridden nor
castrated, but, with the exception of the finest which are re-
served for the stud, are disposed of wherever they will com-
mand the most money. The mare is particularly valued be-
cause her produce constitutes the principal income of her
owner; because she is less quarrelsome than the stallion, an
important consideration where there are no stables ; because
she does not neigh when approaching strange horses, thus an-
nouncing the coming of her robber owner ; and because she is
thought to be more capable than the horse of enduring hunger,
thirst, heat and labor. In most other eastern countries stallions
are much preferred to mares as being more noble, spirited and
hardy. In the Barbary States a man is ashamed to be seen
mounted upon a mare, and geldings are unknown, as the Koran
forbids castration.

In England and elsewhere, racers are never gelded, and in
France and Italy stallions are extensively employed in post-ser-
vice by government, and are also worked by private individuals
very generally, both upon the road and the farm.

The custom so prevalent in Great Britain and this country of
castrating stallions designed for ordinary service was introduced
about the year 1500, in consequence of laws intended to pre-
vent the deterioration of the breeds of horses which prohibited
stallions running at large. Mares, also, were then first brought
into common use because found to be tougher, more spirited,
and less liable to disease than geldinji's.

178 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

It is a question worthy of consideration, whether, with the
present improved methods of subduing and educating horses,
stallions might not be more generally preserved in their original
strength and beauty with decided advantage.

The greatest objection to them perhaps is their almost uncon-
querable disposition to neigh at certain seasons. It is said that
in Hungary the practice prevails of cutting across the septum
naris, or cartilage between the nostrils by a horizontal incision,
and that this destroys the power of neighing and improves the
wind by enlarging the nostrils. If the neighing of stallions and
especially the braying of asses and mules could by so simple an
operation be suppressed, it should always be performed.

Arabian horses are of small size, rarely exceeding fourteen
and one half hands in height, or nine hundred pounds in weight.
Their limbs arc very clean and delicate, and their pasterns
long and sloping. They are smoothly and compactly built,
though rather narrow chested. Their shoulders are oblique
and well furnished with muscle, their withers high and thin,
and their heads are often absolutely perfect, being fnie in the
muzzle, broad and full between the eyes, and adorned with
most beautiful, lively and expressive ears. They are usually
treated with kindness and are exceedingly gentle and intelli-
gent.

The foal at the time of its birth is not allowed to fall upon
the ground, but is received in the arms of its owner and washed
and caressed like an infant. To avoid injury to the dam and
her future progeny, as she is expected to breed every year, the
foal is weaned when thirty days old, and fed for one hundred
days on camel's milk, when it begins to eat small quantities of
wheat or barley, which is to be its principal food in after life.

The Arab usually feeds his mare twice a day with five or six
pounds of grain and a handful of straw, if he has it, and at
evening gives her a little water. She remains saddled all day,
cither loose or fastened near the tent, to be ready for any sudden
emergency. Although thin in flesh, except when grass is
abundant, these animals possess great speed and remarkable
endurance, having been known to run more than one hundred
miles without halting, and to go without food, or drink, for
several days. They are taught to gallop to the tent when
called ; to })ick up things from the ground and give them to

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 179

their riders at the word of command ; and to stand still in the
scorching sunshine while their masters sleep securely in the
shade of their bodies, assured that they will be disturbed only
when danger approaches. The temper of Arabian horses is
admirable. They are usually quiet, but easily excited, respond-
ing cheerfully to the calls of the rider and participating with
great eagerness in the race, the pursuit, the retreat, or the
ostrich hunt.

The Arab begins to ride his mare when she is two years old,
and subjects her at once to a very severe trial in order to
determine her quality. For this purpose, he springs upon her
back and urges her at full speed across the desert a distance
of many miles, without one moment's respite, and then forces
her, steaming and panting, into water so deep, that she must
swim. She is then turned loose, and, if she proceeds imme-
diately to eating as though nothing had happened, her charac-
ter is established, and she is acknowledged to be a genuine
specimen of the Kochlani breed.

The color 06 these horses is generally chestnut, bay, or gray,
and rarely black ; but the true Arabian is never spotted, nor
piebald.

In conclusion, notwithstanding their many good points, con-
sidering the uncertainty of every Arabian pedigree, and the fact
that the best Thoroughbred horses excel the Arabian in superior
size, stouter limbs and greater swiftness, over any country and
for any distance, there seems to be little reason for the employ-
ment of Arabian stallions for the improvement of our stock.

The fact that the coarse horses found in Great Britain, two
hundred years ago, were wonderfully improved by a cross with
the Arabian does not by any means establish the principle that
this refining process will always and everywhere be advanta-
geous. If carried to excess, the result must be to produce a
breed of horses like the Arabians, which are not to be com-
pared in useful qualities with the present excellent breeds either
of Old or New England. •

The Thorovf^hbred Horse. — English horses have long been
bred with the greatest care for special objects, — the racer for
speed ; — the hunter for speed and strength ; — the hackney for
speed, strength, and style ; — and the draught horse for the
weight and power demanded by his work.

180 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The most famous of these is the Race, or Blood, or Thorough-
bred horse, descended through many generations from oriental
stock. It must not be supposed, liowever, that all Thorough-
bred horses, or even any of the modern ones, are of pure eastern
blood, since there is much uncertainty respecting the pedigrees
of the celebrated horses of the olden time. Thus in the pedi-
gree of Eclipse there are at least thirteen mares mentioned of
luiknown blood.

A Thoroughbred liorse of the present day is one whose name
is found in " the Stud Book" where the pedigrees of all are
carefully recorded.

The superiority of the English Blood horse over the Arabian
was well established more than a hundred years since, and
during the past century no Arabian horses have distinguished
themselves either in the stud, or on the turf. So inferior in
speed and stoutness are they, that horses of pure eastern blood
are allowed to carry, in running, thirty-six pounds less weight
than English horses and yet they very rarely, if ever, win a
race. •

The three oriental horses whose influence seems to have been
greatest in the production of this remarkable breed, are the
Byerly Turk, who was owned by Captain Byerly, in Ireland, in
1G89 ; the Darley Arabian who was imported into Yorkshire
from Aleppo by Mr. Darley in 1712 ; and the Godolphin Barb,
who was first employed in the stud of Lord Godolphin in the
year 1731. All the renowned racers of modern times claim
among their illustrious ancestors one or more of these horses.

The three English horses which have been the sires of the
largest number of winning racers and have consequently been
regarded as most influential in the improvement of the breed,
are ]\Iatchem, King Ilerod, and Eclipse.

Matchcm was foaled in 1748 and became the sire of three
hundred and fifty-four winning horses, who won purses and
plates to the value of more than $750,000.

King Herod was the most succe^ful stock horse ever known,
having got four hundred and ninety-seven winners whose
earnings on the turf amounted to more than $1,000,000. He
was a horse of fine appearance, with great speed and power
though not always victorious like his great grandsire Flying
Childers. Herod was foaled in 1758, and his descendants have

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 181

been so remarkable that it has been affirmed by an excellent
authority that tlic worth of a modern race-horse was proportion-
ed to the amount of Herod blood in his veins.

Eclipse, whose history has been given, got three hundred and
forty-four winners, which earned about $800,000.

There are now in Great Britain, some five hundred breeding
establishments which produce annually about fourteen hundred
Thoroughbred foals.

There are, also, one hundred and fifty-three race-courses, tlie
most celebrated of which are those at Newmarket, Epsom and
Doncastcr. The races are patronized and sustained principally
by the wealthy nobility, although f 25,000 are annually paid by
government to aid in supporting the most important ones, upon
the supposition that they are essential to the preservation of the
horse in his greatest perfection.

Formerly, the courses were six miles in length, or there
were heats of four miles each, and the weights carried were
heavy, so that the race was a thorough trial of the real strength
and speed of the mature horse. Now, yearlings are run for
half a mile, and all the best colts and fillies are entered at two
years of age, and most of them spoiled before they are four
years old, after which they are called aged horses. There
are often more than fifty competitors entered for the plate,
purse or stakes offered, the' value of which sometimes exceeds
$80,000.

So great has been the effort to bring forward young stock
prematurely for these purposes, that foals of eleven months
attain a height of fourteen hands and a girth of five feet; and
at two years of age they appear almost grown and well furnished
with muscle. This rapid development is followed, as might be
expected, in the great majority of instances, by an equally
speedy decay, and a sound, old racer is scarcely ever seen.

The average height of the Thoroughbred horse is fifteen
hands and three inches, but the average weight seems to be
" nothing to speak of," as it is never mentioned. In form lie
resembles somewhat the Arabian, but is taller and longer. His
neck is less arched, lighter and of greater length. His hind-
quarters long, deep and powerful, while his legs are long and
slender, though the muscles of the arm and thigh are well
developed. That the legs are too delicate is proved by the iact

23*

182 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

that ninety-nine out of every hundred break down in the back
sinews, sometimes in the first training and very often in the
first severely contested race.

That there have been a few stout, substantial, short-limbed
Thoroughbred liorses in modern times, both in England and in
this country, cannot be denied. Such horses are, however,
exceptions to the general type, and are every year diminishing
in number. Unless the present foolish system of racing be
greatly modified. Thoroughbred horses will soon become mere
gamblers' tools, and will be considered utterly worthless for the
improvement of any other breed.

It cannot be denied that some of the crosses of this blood
with other breeds have resulted in the production of most val-
uable animals, possessing in an extraordinary degree intelli-
gence, courage, strength and swiftness. Such for instance are
the English Hunters, which are able to carry a rider of two
hundred pounds' weight at the speed of the fox and hounds
over Avails, fences, hedges and ditches, through swamps,
ploughed fields and streams, across every variety of country,
for a distance of many miles.

The inquiry whether the influence of the Thoroughbred
horse would be likely to prove beneficial upon the horses of
this Commonwealth will be discussed in another part of this
report. t

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE.

This horse has long been bred with great care and uniformity
in that i)ortion of Scotland which also enjoys the enviable repu-
tation of producing the best dairy cattle in the world, namely,
tUe counties of Ayr, Dumfries, Renfrew and Lanark. They
derive their name from the river Clyde, which flows through
Lanarkshire, where they are very numerous. This breed, like
the Morgan, is the natural result of the peculiar circumstances
of its location, and has been developed by a favorable combina-
tion of soil and climate witii the necessities of an enterprising
people. In this region, celebrated for its extensive coal mines
and prosperous manufactures, as well as for its agricultural
thrift, large num])ers of })owcrful horses are constantly em-
ployed in hauling heavy freight, and the farmers have wisely

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 183

and successfully endeavored to produce upon their own soil
the animal best adapted to the work.

The Clydesdale horse is about sixteen hands in height and
weighs from twelve hundred to sixteen hundred pounds. The
most common colors are black, brown, bay and gray. They
are sufficiently spirited and courageous, but intelligent, willing,
free from vice and very true, steady pullers. Their heads are
small and often beautiful, their necks arched, and their legs
and feet remarkably good, being of excellent shape, substantial
and durable. They are superior travellers, for large horses,
and especially famous for their rapid walk, and being often
handsome and stylish they are frequently employed as carriage
and stout saddle horses.

Professor Low, in his admirable work, " The Domesticated
Animals of the British Islands," says : " The long stride charac-
teristic of this breed is partly the result of conformation and
partly of habit and training ; but, however produced, it adds
greatly to the usefulness of the horses both on the road and in
the fields. No such loads are known to be drawn at the same
pace by any horses in the kingdom as in the single-horse-carts
of carriers and others in the west of Scotland ; and in the labor
of the fields these horses are found to combine activity with the
physical strength required for draught."

On the whole, the Clydesdale horses seem to be as distinct a
breed and as peculiarly adapted to New England as are the
Ayrshire cattle ; and it is to be hoped that some of our wealthy
breeders of horses will distinguish themselves and benefit the
country by the importation of choice stallions and mares of this
valuable stock. It would undoubtedly be wisest to preserve
the breed in its purity so far as possible, since the attempt to
increase the size of our present stock by the use of large stal-
lions upon native mares would result in the production of many
coarse and ill-proportioned horses.

AMERICAN HORSES.

These horses, like American stock of all kinds, present a
great variety of forms and qualities resulting from the character
and habits of the people, the peculiarities of climate, soil and
food, and the crossing of different breeds.

184 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Ill the Soutlicrii States, where roads are bad and the travel-
ling done mostly upon liorseback, are found horses well adapted
to the saddle, the best of which exhibit distinct evidences of
their descent from the imported Thoroughbred horse.

In Pennsylvania and Western New York many large, excel-
lent draught horses arc raised which are sometimes called Cones-
toga horses. They are usually of a bay or brown color, and
their principal faults are a want of spirit and often too much
length of leg.

Many stylish and fast carriage horses are bred in the Middle
States, and the greater number of the l)est roadsters used in
and about New York City and Philadelphia contain more or
less of English or Oriental blood.

The three foreign horses, whose descendants are now most
numerous and celebrated as roadsters, are Grand Bashaw,
Trustee, and Messenger.

Grand Bashaw was an imported barb, among whose progeny
are the famous stallions, Young Bashaw, Andrew Jackson,
Kemble Jackson, Long Island, Black Hawk, and Jupiter.

Trustee, an English Thoroughbred horse, was imported iu
1835, and was the sire of Fashion, the best racing mare ever
bred in this country, and of many other first-class racers. He
also got the renowned trotter, Trustee, who performed, without
injury to himself, the unparalleled feat of trotting twenty miles
in fifty-nine minutes and thirty-five and one-half seconds. He
accomplished the entire distance without once breaking his trot,
making the last mile in two minutes and fifty-one and a half
seconds. This almost incredible match against time occurred
on the Union Course, Long Island, October 20, 1848, the driver
and sulky weighing two hundred and ninety^five pounds.

There can be no question that trotting matches, properly
conducted, are essential to the most complete development of
the breed of roadsters.

The actual excellence of a stallion for getting roadsters, can
be determined only by careful training and driving; and with-
out these trials of stock horses, the tendency would be to
encourage those of a round, smooth, showy form, and beautiful
action, but deficient in that vigor of constitution and perfection
of nerve and muscle which cliaracterize the horse of the highest
speed and the greatest endurance. It is not recommended by

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 185

any means to select always the fastest stallion for getting road-
sters, as there are many other qualities more important than
great speed ; but, other things being equal, the horse which
can trot his mile the quickest, will be most likely to get fast-
travelling, valuable stock.

With suitable preparation and management, not only does a
healthy horse suffer no distress from trotting a moderate dis-
tance at tlie top of his speed, but he enjoys it as highly as his
driver. The match trotter is peculiarly gifted with powers of
locomotion, and his wonderful mechanism can only be appi'c-
ciated when in full operation. To most persons, a closely con-
tested trot is a beautiful and attractive spectacle, and experience
proves that notliing affords a more delightful or harmless
amusement for the people, provided the superintendence and
associations are of the proper kind. The usual accompaniments
of the race course — quarrelling, profanity, intoxication, gam-
bling, and public betting — may and should be always and
everywhere forbidden and prevented. The morals of the com-
munity are of more consequence than the breeds of horses ; but
there is no more occasion for immorality in connection with a
trotting match, than in connection with an exhibition of skill
and swiftness in skating.

But there is no apology for those barbarous matches, which,
from their excessive length, overtask the powers of the horse?
and often result in his destruction. In England, hunters, of
wiiich twenty thousand are said to be kept in the kingdom, are
not unfrequently ridden until they can go no further, and are
so exhausted that they either die upon the spot, or within a few
days, and nearly all are soon rendered unsound, and end their
miserable lives as hacks. In this country, fortunately, horses
are rarely forced to such unreasonable exertion, yet matches of
from ten to one hundred miles are sometimes made, and a suit-
able regard for the lives of our noblest and most willing servants
of the brute creation seems to demand a statute against them.
Frank Forester, in his valuable work, " The Horse and Ilorse-
manship of America," thus expresses his views upon this subject:
" All these long matches against time are useless, cruel, derog-
atory to the turf, disgraceful to humanity. They are never
accomplished — whether the horse be urged beyond its powers
by the torture of the whip, or only by the incitement of its own

186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

high courage and emulation, which, every horseman knows,
will spur a wel'-bied animal to die, rather than to give in —
without great pr;i-ent distress of the creature, great risk of its
dying in the trial — anil, in nine cases out often, its serious and
permanent injury and deterioration, even if it win the match,
and appear to win without distress."

" Nine times out of ten such matches are made up by the
lowest of the low, and the object is solely to win money."

It has been demonstrated at a fearful expense of suffering,
and the trial ought never to be repeat ed, that a horse can trot ten
miles inside of thirty minutes, twenty miles inside of an hour,
fifty miles inside of four hours, and one hundred miles inside
of nine hours.

A single mile has been run in one minute forty-two and a
half s'conds by the American racer, Henry Perritt ; paced in
two minutes seventeen and a half seconds by Pocahontas ; and
trotted in two minutes nineteen and three-quarters seconds by
Flora Temple.

The most celebrated of all the Blood horses which have been
progenitors of fine roadsters in this country, is imported Mes-
senger, who is generally conceded to have been the best stock
horse ever brought to America. He died in New York in 1808,
and, though by no means a model horse himself, he was the
getter of a vast number of famous running and trotting horses.
He was a son of Mambrino, who was one of the most superb
horses ever known. He is described as a gray horse, with a
large, bony head, a short, straight neck, low withers, and upright
shoulders, while his windpipe and nostrils were very large, and
his logs, barrel, loins, hips, and quarters, absolutely faultless.

Among his descendants were the trotting stallions, Mambrino,
Hambletonian, Messenger, Abdallah, and Engineer, and the
renowned Lady Suffolk, who was for fourteen years queen of
the trotting course.

Lady Suffolk was got by a great-grandson out of a great-
granddaughter of imported Messenger, and was foaled in 1833,
on Long Island. She was on the trotting course sixteen years,
and won eighty-eight matches out of one hundred and sixty-
one trotted, earning the sum of 1^35,000.

So excellent have the Messenger horses proved in the various
branches of Messenger, Abdallah and Hambletonian, that more
than eighty of the horses entered for exhibition at Springfield in

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 187

1860 were claimed to be of this stock, and almost every good-
sized, fast-travelling, gray horse is called a Messenger. The
genuine descendants of Messenger have been justly celebrated
as active, tough, serviceable and long-lived horses, and it is
singular that they should not have been preserved in greater
purity.

THE MORGAN HORSE.

In New England, we find in the highest perfection the horse
of all work, bred by the universal Yankee, the only man who
can be " Jack-at-all-trades," and good at all. This animal pos-
sesses such an extraordinary combination of valuable qualities
as enables him to excel on the parade ground, as a spirited
charger ; on the road as a stylish driving horse, intelligent,
prompt and enduring ; on the farm as a fine, pleasant, power-
ful work-horse ; and on the track as a fast and beautiful
trotter. During the last fifty years, especially in Vermont,
these horses have been bred in great numbers, and with con-
siderable care, and they have now become famous all the world
over, so that they are beginning to be exported to England for
breeding purposes. They derive their name, Morgan, from a
small, partly Thoroughbred stallion, foaled in Springfield,
Mass., in the year 1793, and afterwards kept at Randolph,
Vermont. This horse having acquired some reputation as a
stock horse, was named after his first owner, Justin Morgan.
He left three sons, whose progeny have become celebrated as
the three families of Morgans, viz. : the Sherman, the Wood-
bury, and the Bulrush Morgans.

The famous stallion, Black Hawk, is thought, by some, to
have been got by Sherman Morgan out of a half-bred English
mare, said to have been raised in New Brunswick, and to have
been of a black color, a fast trotter, and a very fine animal. This
horse was foaled in 1833, in Greenland, New Hampshire, and when
four years old, was purchased for -$150, and used as a roadster
by Benjamin Thurston, of Lowell, until 1844. As he was a
beautiful, spirited horse, able to trot his mile in two minutes
and forty seconds, and as the few colts he had got proved
remarkably promising, he was then bought by Major David
Hill, of Bridport, Vermont, who kept him until his death in
185G. Black Hawk was about fifteen hands high, and weighed
nine hundred and fifty pounds. His skeleton is preserved iii

188 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

the Museum of Natural History, at the State House in Boston.
He was a horse of ahnost perfect form for a roadster, compact,
symmetrical and muscular, and possessed of most beautiful
head, neck, and limbs. He was active, elegant, spirited, and
pleasant, and marked his offspring with his own peculiar
excellencies and characteristics, even to color, more decidedly
perhaps, than any other American horse. Although the mares
covered by him were, as a general rule, the best in the country,
yet liis stock was so universally superior, that his owner used
to say that Black Hawk wo\ild get a good colt out of any
thing. His numerous and justly esteemed descendants consti-
tute the best breed of roadsters ever known, combining the
intelligence, courage, elegance, life and endurance of the Tlior-
oughbred horse, with sufficient bone and substance, and the
finest possible trotting action.*

Ethan Allen, one of the most beautiful, fastest, and best
gaited trotting stallions in the world, was got by Black Hawk
out of a Messenger mare.

At the fair in St. Louis, in 1859, five out of the six best
roadster stallions on exhibition, were Black Hawks, and the
prizes of .!i^l,000 in 1859, and of ^1,500 in 1860, for the best
stallion of this class, were each awarded to a son of Black
Hawk. More than one hundred horses of this breed were
entered at the show in Springfield, in 1860, and nearly one-half
of all the successful competitors were Black Hawks.

Nearly one-fifth of all the stallions described in " Linsley's
History of the Morgan Horse," are sons of Black Hawk, and
fine stallions of this breed are uot only numerous, but command
higher prices than any others in the country.

Of the Woodbury Morgans, perhaps the best samples are
Gifford and his descendants, particularly the Hale Horse, or
Green Mountain, 2d, owned for many years by Silas Hale,
of Royalston, Mass.

These horses have all the fire and action and sometimes the
perverse disposition, as well as the round, smooth, compact

* Since the earlier sheets of this report went to press, and on further inves-
tigation of tlie subject, we are satisfied that the better opinion is that Black
Hawk was sired by Paddy, a very superior stallion kept, at the time, in the
same stable, and that there is little or no i)robability that he had any Morgan
blood in him.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 189

form of the Shetland pony, united however with sufTicicnt size
and remarkable muscular power. They are in fact a breed of
large ponies.

Of the Bulrush family the Morrill horses are perhaps as pop-
ular as any ; though Morgan Emperor, the sire of North Star,
and of the famous trotting horse Chicago Jack, was a very
excellent stallion.

The Bulrush Morgans, so far as they can be distinguished
from the other families, arc rather remarkable for strength and
bottom, than for speed or beauty. It has been said that " a
smart, active boy would wear out a wrought iron rocking-pony
sooner than a grown-up man could break down the constitution
of a Bulrush horse."

The ^lorgan horses have been crossed in every direction, and
of course, have at present but little claim to the name from the
amount of original Morgan blood in their veins. Compared,
however, with the horses of any other country, they are quite a
distinct breed, peculiar for their compact, muscular forms, their
activity and strength, their soundness and endurance, their
comeliness, usefulness and perfect trotting action. Upon exam-
ining the pedigrees of all the most celebrated Morgan stallions,
■we see that there is a large infusion of English Racing blood
in them. Thus Justin Morgan was at least half Thoroughbred ;
Sherman, three-quarters; Woodbury, one-quarter; Bulrush,
one-quarter ; Gilford, five-eighths. Fifty of the best stallions
in Linsley's book are out of half-bred mares; twelve out of
quarter-bred ; five out of so-called Messenger mares ; and nearly
all the Morgan stallions of any note get racing blood from their
sires, to the extent of, at least, one-eighth.

Thus it appears that, as in England, very valuable horses for
all work and especially for the road, have been produced by the
judicious crossing of the Thoroughbred with other breeds ; so
in this country our best horses owe much of their superior
excellence to a mixture of Racing blood. Just what propor-
tion of this is best adapted to produce the finest roadsters has
never been definitely decided ; and it is by no means an easy
problem. Thoroughbred horses rarely have the essential gift
of trotting sufficiently square and free to please an American
taste ; and their feet and limbs are not quite large and substan-
tial enough for rapid driving on rough roads. Still, there are

24*

190 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

some compact, muscular, good-limbed horses, of the purest
pedigree, which could hardly fail of getting magnificent road-
sters when crossed with the largest and fleetest of the Morgan
mares. The half-blood sons of this cross, being trained to
trot, would be even Ijetter suited to become sires of fast trotters.

Notwithstanding the undeniable excellence of the best form
of the Thoroughbred horse, and the great improvement in our
roadsters, which has resulted from the use of such stallions as
Messenger, Trustee, Duroc, Henry and Eclipse, it is by no
means certain that our present breed requires for its perfection
or preservation, (as some would have us believe,) continual
recurrence to this blood.

Frank Forester claims that the excellence of every breed of
horses and of every individual horse, consists in the possession
of oriental blood, yet most of the best trotters have been what
he is pleased to call cold-blooded. The wonderful horse,
Dutchman, trotted three miles in seven minutes, thirty-two and
a half seconds, and four miles in ten minutes, fifty-one seconds,
which is the fastest time on record. He was purchased in a brick-
yard in Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in the rather slow
work of trampling clay, and is described as a great, coarse, ugly,
brown brute, with a short, hog neck, a fearful borer, going with
his head down in the most ungainly and disagreeable manner.
No body could suspect him of possessing a trace of pure blood
and he was thick-winded, but he could trot at a tremendous
rate for a greater distance than any other horse.

Blood of the right kind is an excellent thing, but all good
qualities have not been given to any one breed exclusively.

The Thoroughbred horse of England has been produced by the
steady prosecution and scientific management of breeding, which
Professor Percivall says, means " not only the procuration of
original stock of good description, but the continual progressive
cultivation of that stock in the progeny by the greatest care in
rearing and feeding, and by the most careful selection. On
these two circumstances, and particularly on the latter, a great
deal more depends than on the original characters or attributes
of the parents. By these means, we have progressed from a
good to a better, losing sight of no subsidiary help, ihitil we
have obtained a perfection in horse-flesh unknown in the whole
world beside."

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 191

In the same manner, by the judicious selection of the very
choicest breeding animals, both male and female, of the best
pedigree, and by proper attention to tlio wants of the young
stock, now too much neglected, there is reason to believe that
New England might produce a breed of American Roadsters
almost perfect. Possessing as she does, the most suitable cli-
mate, an abundance of the best food, the best drivers and roads
for fast trotting and the choicest breeding animals, nothing is
lacking but a little of that enterprise and discretion on the part
of horse-breeders, by which her cattle-breeders have been con-
ducted to such complete success.

The greatest hindrance in the way of breeders is the difficulty
of obtaining the services of suitable stallions at reasonable
rates.

In those countries which require large numbers of fine horses
for military purposes, the governments give great encourage-
ment to horse-breeding.

Napoleon, the great, imported more than two hundred Ara-
bian stallions for the improvement of the breed of horses in
France. The present Emperor also bestows much attention
upon the subject ; and stallions of the best quality are purchased
by government and stationed in the different districts of the
empire.

During the last nine hundred years the English government
has done much at various times for the perfection of their
breeds of horses. Many hundred stallions and mares have been
imported by different kings from Flanders, Italy, Spain, and
especially from the East.

Henry the Eighth enacted most tyrannical laws respecting
both the use and the breeding of horses. He forbade any stal-
lions to be preserved, which were less than fifteen hands high ;
and required his officers to destroy any " unlikely tits," whether
stallions, mares, or foals, which would be liable to injure the
breed. He also compelled every man, whose wife wore a
French hood, or a velvet bonnet, to keep for the saddle one
trotting stallion, while dukes and archbishops were obliged to
have seven.

The Duke of Augustenburg resides upon the island of Alsen,
in the Baltic Sea, and devotes much attention to the breeding
of fine horses, striving to produce such as are distinguished for

192 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

beauty and general excellence rather than for ?j)eed. The
native horses of this region are very large and sliowy, being
sometimes even eighteen hands high and very spirited. To
improve upon these, the Duke keeps a stud of fifteen of the
most carefully selected English Thoroughbred stallions, and
thirty mares of the same blood for crossing with the native
horses. He allows his stallions to cover without charge six
hundred of the best mares belonging to the peasantry of the
island. "He keeps a register of them, and in the majority of
cases examines the marcs bimsclf, and chooses tlie horse which
will best suit her form, her licauties, her defects, or the purpose
for which the progeny is intended." Another very important
rule observed both by tlie Duke and his tenants, is never to
sell from the island, at any price, a first-class breeding mare.

If the farmers of New England would adopt a similar princi-
ple of action, it would not only be much to their advantage
pecuniarily, but would wonderfully favor the perfecting of the
breed of horses and prevent any danger of deterioration.

The most magnificent establisliment in the world for breeding
horses belongs to the Austrian government, its special ol)ject
being to furnish the choicest stallions at a moderate price to
breeders. It occupies a fertile plain of forty thousand acres, at
Mesoliagyes, and the whole farm is surrounded by a deep ditch
and a belt of forest trees sixty feet wide. Here are kept for
breeding purposes fifty stallions and one thousand mares of the
finest quality, besides two hundred mares and six hundred
oxen employed in cultivating the land. When four years of
age the best colts arc selected for home use, while all the
remaining stallions of superior quality are sent to different parts
of the country for the improvement of the breed, being sold at
a regulation price of $500 each. The poorer colts and mares not
wanted on the farm are sold at auction or employed in the
army. The annual expenses of this immense stud, amount to
$60,000, and are entirely defrayed by the sale of stock.

Since in this country we cannot hope for government aid,
and since there are as yet but few wealthy men interested in
horse-breeding, while stallions of the best quality are very
costly, there seems to be only one way in which they can be
procured.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 193

This is by the formation of stock companies, or horse-breeding
associations. Such companies are not at all uncommon in the
Western States, and, if well conducted, can scarcely fail of
success.

Suppose, for instance, fifty men interested in horse-breeding
meet together and decide, after suitable discussion, what kind
of stallion will best suit them. Then let them appoint a com-
mittee to purchase and take care of one, every member of the
association taking one or more shares of the stock, and having
the privilege of sending a proportionate number of mares every
year to the horse. The company should limit by vote the
number of mares, and every one ought to be approved by au
examining committee, as fit to breed from and adapted to cross
with the horse. In this way the members of tiie association
could be certain of pecuniary profit, if the horse lived, and, if
he died, the loss would not be insupportable. Indeed, almost
any horse would pay for himself in two or three years.

RULES FOR HORSE BREEDERS.

First. Resolve to raise either evenly-trotting roadsters, heavy
draught horses, or saddle ponies ; and remember that " like begets
like." Therefore, select both dam and sire with special refer-
ence to the kind of stock wanted, and, if you would be certain
of the quality of the colt, the sire and dam must resemble each
other, the more nearly the better, and must be of good descent.

Second. Never breed from an animal known to have a special
weakness of constitution — never from one which has become
blind from hard work, a cold, or cataract — never from one
which has any disease of the respiratory organs — never from
one with any disease of the bones, as spavin, or ring-bone —
never from one with any defect of form, which either predis-
poses to disease, or renders unsalable, as curby hocks, large,
ugly head, long or lopped ears, naked tail, contracted, or other-
wise misshapen feet — never from one of decidedly bad color or
temper. Perhaps the most common disease of the finest and
fastest breeding mares is founder, either of the feet or chest, and
it is difficult to decide how much these affections vitiate the
blood, and produce a tendency to the same in tlie offspring.
Undoubtedly some horses are more liable to these ailments, from
a peculiarity of constitution, or from some defect of structure,

104 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

than others, and it may be safely affirmed that the colt of a sound
marc, other things being equal, is worth much more for service,
if not for sale, than one from a mare which has become stiff
or lame from disease, either of the feet or the muscles.

Third. Never breed from animals merely because they are
fast, but select for breeding roadsters, such as are of good pedi-
gree, and possess as many of the points of the model animal as
possible, especially those which indicate a firm constitution, and
never breed from one which has not a beautiful, smooth, square
trot. The mare will be fast enough, if she can trot handsomely
a mile in five minutes, and is greatly to be preferred to one
which can go with " hitching " and " singling " a mile in three
minutes, or less. She should be of as perfect form as possible,
though if the body be rather longer and more capacious than is
desirable for a model roadster, it will not be objectionable. It
is very important that she be a good milker.

To breed with such a mare, select a stallion with small head,
stout, well-formed legs and feet, short, broad back, oblique
shoulders, and able to trot in model style at least a mile in
three minutes. He should never be long-legged, nor much
heavier than the mare. If it be desirable to increase the size
of the progeny, it may be much better accomplished by taking
superior care of the mare while with foal, and while suckling,
and by keeping the young animal in comfortable quarters, and
supplying it with an abundance of the most suitable food.

Fourth. If a valuable breeding mare has some obvious defect
of form, she should be covered l)y a horse as perfect as possible
in this particular, but not by one with any opposite defect.
Never employ for breeding, an animal defective in any respect,
when a perfect one is accessible.

Fifth. Crosses between very dissimilar animals can never be
relied on to produce valuable colts, as they are liable to be cross-
made or luisymmetrical in form.

Sixth. It is unprofitable to breed from weak or unsound
animals, or from such as are not tolerably well-made, and pos-
sessed of first-rate ability to perform the ordinary service of a
horse of the kind. But, if the dam and sire are judiciously
chosen, and the colt properly reared, he will, in ninety-nine
cases out of a hundred, be worth, at four years of age, all be
has cost, and pay a fair, and sometimes a large profit.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 195

THE STABLE.

A suitable stable is the first requisite in the care of a horse.
It should be capacious, well-ventilated, but warm, well-lighted,
and so situated as to be free from dampness. Stables are not
unfrequently built over cellars or depressions in the soil, which
receive the manure, and are often partially filled with water.
The constant evaporation from this pond keeps tlie entire stable
damp and chilly, and thus in an excellent condition for causing
founder or rheumatism, lung fever, colic, and other diseases in
the poor, exhausted creatures, whose uncomfortable nights
must be passed there. Warmer, but not more salubrious, are
stables over cellars, dark and close, which are fuming with the
pungent, noxious gases generated by fermenting dung. Such
cellars ought always to be very thoroughly ventilated, not
merely by an open door or space on one side, but by a constant
and abundant circulation of air.

The stalls sliould be as wide as circumstances will allow, but
never less than five feet, in order that the horse may have room
to lie in an easy, unconstrained position, and rise without any
danger of bruising the points of his hips.

Wherever it is feasible, a loose box-stall twelve or fourteen
feet square is by far the most comfortable for the horse, and
there sliould be at least one in every stable, for use in cases of
sickness or accident. The difference between such a resting-
place, into which the horse is turned loose, and a narrow stall,
where his head is hitched up two feet from the floor, as often
happens, is much like that between a berth in the cabin of a
steam-boat and a nice, double bed.

The floor upon which the horse stands should be as near level
as possible, and if it must be inclined to carry off the water, it
would probably be more agreeable to the horse to have his fore
feet tlie lowest, as his back sinews are less tense in this position ;
and it is observed that for this reason horses in pasture usually
stand with their fore feet in a hole which they have excavated
by stamping.

The English method of having a grate over a closed drain in
the centre of the stall is an excellent one.

Another good plan is to lay a double floor, the under one
with an inclination of three inches, and the upper one of jtlanks
four inches thick at one end and one inch at the other, placed

196 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

about an inch apart. In this way the standing place is level
and the drainage perfect.

Many horses have been seriously injured, besides being made
uncomfortable, by being confined in narrow stalls upon inclined
floors. In box-stalls, where the horse can move about and take
the most agreeable position, it is of course not necessary that
the floor be level, and perhaps better that it should not be.

The sides of the stall should be smooth, and if tlu) horse is
disposed to I'ub his tail he may be prevented by fastening strips
of plank six inches wide to the partition about three feet from
the floor. In a narrow stall there might be danger that the
horse would injure his hips upon these planks, but he will soon
learn to avoid them in rising.

The common form of rack and manger for ordinary stables
is on the whole not very objectionable. When the hay and
straw are all cut, the rack is quite unnecessary, and if one be
used, it would be much better to set it in a vertical position
than inclined, as is usual. Tbe horse would feed more easily
and be less annoyed by dust. The edge of the manger should
always be protected by a strip of band iron, both that it may
not be destroyed and that the horse be not tempted to acquire
the vicious habit of cribbing.

The best mode of fastening a horse in a stall is the English
one of attaching a light weight to the end of the halter and
allowing it to run up and down under the manger, which
should always be boarded in front from the floor up. By this
arrangement, the horse enjoys sufficient liberty and yet has no
chance of getting cast by stepping over his halter.

FOOD OF HORSES.

The food of horses necessarily varies much in different
countries.

In Sweden and other northern regions they are often habitu-
ated to a diet of fish, and in Iceland, the scanty stock of vege-
table fodder is eked out by the addition of soup made of dried
whale's flesh. In Arabia, camel's milk, dates, flesh balls, eggs
and brotli are common articles of food for horses as for men ;
and in India, balls of flour, butter, salt and spices are given to
improve digestion and render the hair sleek and glossy. In
France horses are sometimes fed with chopped hay or straw

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 197

moistened with impure sirup from the sugar works and thrive
excellently without grain, which perhaps is not to be wondered
at, since mare's milk contains a greater amount of sugar than
that of any other animal. In many parts of Europe bread is
the " staff of life" to both horse and man, and they may often
be seen partaking of the same loaf. This bread is made of rye,
beans, pease, oats or wheat, either separate or mixed, and is
thought to be a cheap and salutary food. In Turkey, opium,
in England, ale, in Portugal, wine, and in Austria, arsenic, are
employed as stimulants for the purpose of imparting wind and
strength on a severe journey, of refreshing an exhausted animal,
or for increasing the beauty of the coat and the spirit of the
horse.

The best food for roadsters in this country consists of hay,
oats, and carrots, or grass, with a moderate supply of water.

The quantity of hay depends upon the size and work of the
horse, but there is more danger of giving too much than too
little. Many horses become broken-winded and cribbers from
being allowed to stuff themselves with hay. From eight to ten
pounds of the very best and sweetest hay — and nothing is better
than good Timothy — is an abundant daily allowance. If it is
at all dusty it should be cut and moistened with water.

The oats should be of the best quality and the quantity may
vary from eight to twelve quarts per day. Oats and hay are
much improved by age and are not thoroughly ripe and perfect
before they are twelve months old. One or two quarts of corn
meal will be a valuable addition to the daily food of such
horses as are inclined to leanness ; and horses of slow work
may be fed upon half corn and half oats, the amount of course
depending upon the size of the horse.

Corn alone is too heating, and produces more fat than mus-
cle, and rye is thought to be very dangerous food for roadsters,
inducing a condition of the system which often results in
founder, especially of the feet.

Four to eight quarts of carrots, either cut or uncut, fed to a
horse once a day produce a charming effect in improving the
digestion, preventing diseases of the respiratory organs, and
rendering the kidneys suitably active and the hair glossy and
smooth. No valuable horse ought to be wintered without roots
of some kind, and carrots are by far the best.

25*

198 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Salt should not be given on the food, but should be offered
to the horse once a week, or a lump of rock salt may be kept in
his manger.

Horses should also be allowed, from time to time, access to
chalk, ashes, or common earth, which they will eat with avidity
in certain conditions of the system. It has been said with some
reason that these substances arc the best preventives of
cribbing, wind-sucking, etc., habits which probably result from
indigestion in some form.

Glauber's salts is sometimes advantageously given to horses,
especially in the spring, as a mild aperient, and is readily eaten
by them.

Saltpetre and all other medicines should be administered as
rarely as possible, and never, unless absolutely required by a
morbid condition of the horse.

A bran mash, prepared by pouring boiling water upon from
four to eight quarts of wheat shorts and covering it over to
■cool, is an excellent thing for a horse occasionally, softening
the dung, and increasing the tone of the digestive organs.
Many horsemen give a mash to their horses every Saturday
night instead of their regular food of grain, and the practice is
most judicious. By the proper use of mashes, the necessity of
physic, formerly so often given, is almost entirely obviated.
When carrots are fed, mashes will be seldom required.

No horse should ever be allowed to drink more than a pailful
of water at a time, but should have it offered frequently.
Nothing can be more injurious to a horse than to be driven
rapidly, or required to exert himself violently, when his
stomach is distended with food or water; and the custom
prevalent in some countries of causing the horse to fast the
night before a hard journey is much more sensible than the
common one in New England of stuffing him with an unusual
amount of good food.

When a horse is excessively fatigued, or when sufficient time
cannot be allowed for him to eat and partially digest a full meal,
he may be greatly refreshed by a draught of warm gruel, or, in
summer, of cold water containing a small quantity of meal.
In winter, a weary horse may be often prevented from chills by
permitting him to drink a bucket of luke-warm water. It
hardly need be mentioned that a horse when in a heated and

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 199

exliausted state should never be permitted to drink more than
a swallow or two of cold water, unless the exercise is to be con-
tinued at once ; and even then, the amount allowed should be
limited. In trotting matches it is customary to refresh the
liorse by rinsing the mouth and nostrils with cool, fresh water
by means of a sponge or cloth.

The amount and kind of food most economically fed to horses
and mules performing severe, constant labor upon pavements,
may perhaps be inferred from the practice of the Sixth-Avenue
Raih-oad Company in New York. Tiiey employed in 1855, one
hundred and seventeen horses, and two hundred and eleven
mules, which were driven seventeen miles per diem. The daily
allowance of food consisted of te'n pounds of hay and fourteen
pounds of Indian meal for every horse, and half as much meal
for each mule. Ten pounds of salt were allowed per month,
and water was given five times per day in winter and oftcner in
summer.

As it is not profitable to keep a poor horse, so it is unprofita-
ble to keep a horse poorly, and it is more economical to feed a
horse at work some grain, than to allow hay only. The practi-
cal difficulty both respecting the quality of the horse and the
food is, that persons without capital cannot afford to be eco-
nomical.

The best food for colts after they are weaned is, that which
will make them grow most rapidly without becoming fat, and
too much pains cannot be taken to keep them in fine condition.
Tlie change from liquid or green food to dry hay, together with
the chilling influence of the first winter weather, is very apt to
to produce derangement of the digestive organs, followed by
attacks of parasitic worms within and lice without. If this colt
be now neglected and compelled to struggle unaided against
these difficulties, Jie will soon become spiritless, hide-bound,
■with an anxious look, and staring coat, pot-bellied, and his
bones, instead of being fine-grained and sound, will be imper-
fectly formed, and in the right condition to develop ring-bones
and other excrescences. The first w^inter is the critical period
in the life of the horse, and therefore at this time he should
have the most careful attention. He sliould have a warm box-
stall for a shelter and resting place during nights and cold
storms, and a large, sunny yard to exercise in during fine

200 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

weather. He should be abundantly supplied with the best of
hay, and have a quart or two of carrots daily ; and an additional
quart of good oats or wheat shorts will never harm liini.

Nothing is so much wanting in our American horses, as that
perfection of nerve, muscle, and bone, which imparts to Arabian
and Thoroughbred horses their spirit, courage and endurance.
The Arab, as has been stated, feeds his colt on the most nutri-
tious food, such as milk, wheat and barley. The Thoroughbred
colt is constantly fed with oats from the time he is three months
old ; and the mare, both while with foal and while suckling, is
never deprived of them. Good horses cannot be produced
without good food — the knife will be like the steel from which
it is manufactured.

GROOMING.

It is the business of a groom to feed, clean, exercise, and
otherwise take care of horses, and his office is one of much
responsibility, requiring great fidelity, intelligence and judg-
ment, and an excellent temper. There are very few persons in
this country who possess the requisite qualifications, and fewer
still who can be hired for this purpose. The want of suitable
care, after a hard drive, ruins thousands of splendid horses
every year, and many others are seriously injured by want of
proper preparation for their work, and by thoughtlessness or
ignorance on the part of their drivers. A few hints, therefore,
respecting the treatment of horses, may not be out of place
here.

The stable is the home of the horse, and should be furnished
with whatever is necessary to promote his comfort ; and per-
haps the first thing to be mentioned as indispensable is a good
bed. This should consist of an abundance of clean, sweet
straw, which should be entirely removed from the stall during
the day, and on no account put under the manger to destroy, by
its fumes, the eyes and appetite of the horse. No dusty or
musty hay should ever be used about a stable.

In Egypt, dry desert sand is employed for bedding for horses,
and in that warm climate is admirably adapted to serve as a
substitute for straw. In this country, a similar practice is being
extensively adopted wherever fine sand can be conveniently
procured. It is used as bedding for both horses and cattle, and

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 201

is found to answer extremely well, being much neater than
nuick, and cheaper than straw. Animals lying upon sand are
much less liable to attacks of lice, or of skin diseases, than when
supplied with beds of litter of any kind. It furnishes the best
possible material for horses to stand upon, because it does not
tread down like clay, muck or loam, and consequently affords
some pressure upon the frog. It is also an excellent conductor
of heat, and keeps the feet cool ; but, for this very reason, makes
a cold bed, and working horses should have beds of straw.

Sawdust is also quite largely employed as bedding for stock,
and an absorbent of liquid manures. It-has been said that
chestnut sawdust contains an acid, which exerts a prejudicial
effect upon the feet of horses, and dry sawdust of any kind must
have a tendency to desiccate and heat them.

The highest health and comfort of a horse demand that he
should be thoroughly cleaned every morning, whether worked
or not, and after labor he should always be carefully dressed
over before he is left for the night. It is no easy or simple thing
to clean a horse well, and yet if done regularly and properly, it
need not consume a great amount of time. The essential tools
for the operation are a curry-comb or card, a good brush, a
coarse comb for the mane and tail, a sweat-knife or scraper, a
supply of old woollen and cotton cloths, for rubbers, plenty of
hay or straw for wisps, a pick for cleaning the feet, and a large
sponge for washing or wiping, to remove superfluous moisture.

In cleaning a horse, first select a suitable place — out of doors,
if possible, — where there is room enough for the horse to turn
without inconvenience, and hitch him in such a way that he
cannot bite or strike any thing with his fore feet. Then proceed
in a quiet and gentle manner to curry every part of his body,
where he will allow it without much flinching, but be very
cautious about the head, legs and flanks, and if the horse be
very sensitive, these parts should be cleaned with the sponge,
or with wisps and the brush.

Having thus given the skin a thorough scratching, and loosened
the dandruff, proceed to remove it perfectly with the brush, and
finally with a damp cloth. Next, comb out the mane and tail,
being very careful not to break or pull out the hair. The mane
will lie better, if smoothed with a wet brush. Now replace the
blanket, laying it on a little forward of its place, and drawing

202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

it skilfully back so as to leave the Lair perfectly smooth. This
entire process will require but a few minutes labor from an
active groom, provided the horse was properly cleaned the night
before.

To dry off and dress a horse dripping with sweat, after violent
exercise, is a much more laborious as well as important task.
In the first place, such a horse should be immediately scraped
with a piece of band iron, or a strip of hard wood brought to an
edge. A convenient size for a scraper or sweat-knife is fifteen
inches long by two inches wide and half an inch thick on the
back. By this instrument a considerable amount of perspira-
tion may be speedily removed, especially from the belly, to
which it flows from other parts of the body. In mild, pleasant
weather, the horse should be cooled down, and his circulation
equalized, by leading him about, and then a blanket should be
thrown over his body while his head and ears are rubbed dry ;
nest, his legs should be wisped, wiped, and rubbed until clean,
dry and warm ; and finally, the blanket may be turned back,
and the forward portion of the body dressed, and then, the
blanket being replaced over the fore quarter, the remainder
may be cleaned. Now remove the wet blanket, smooth the
whole horse, and put on a dry cover, sufficiently thick to pre-
vent him from becoming chilled. In a very hot day the first
blanket may not be necessary, if the operation be expeditiously
performed, but in cold weather the horse should be covered as
soon as he arrives at the stable, and while walking about, and
every precaution must be adopted to prevent a sudden chill.
If it be very cold or stormy, so as to prevent the walking exer-
cise, the horse must be covered very thoroughly and dried by
hand as rapidly as possible. This is a tedious operation, but
absolutely necessary, if the horse be a valuable one, and you
would not have him stiffened.

Cold water should never be applied to any part of the body
of a hot and exhausted horse, but warm water may be used to
wash the legs, provided they be rubbed dry immediately.

It is an excellent practice to rub the legs of fast-trotting
horses by passing the hands lightly up and down the limb so as
to produce a gentle friction and increase the circulation, but if
too much pressure be applied, the tendons will become sore,
especially in cold weather. Hand rubbing of the legs is parti-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 203

cularly refreshing to weary horses, and tends greatly to the
preservation of their soundness.

In regard to the clothing of horses, there is much diversity
of opinion. It is, however, absolutely necessary to cover warmly
and protect from the cold such horses as are driven so rapidly
as to cause profuse perspiration. Horses of slow work and
coarse blood are generally furnished with a very thick, warm
coat of hair, and readily become accustomed to endure the cold
without a blanket. A liorse, however, looks much better and
requires less food when blanketed, and considering the variable-
ness and severity of our climate, the usa of some artificial
covering is, on the whole, to be recommended.

"Whenever a liorse is cleaned, a careful groom will inspect
his feet to see that his shoes are tight, that there are no pro-
jecting clinches to wound his fetlocks, and that there be nothing
wedged into the foot between the heels of the shoe, or between
the shoe and the frog, which would do injury to the sole of the
foot. He will also with his pick (which is simply a short piece
of iron, with a thin, pointed hook upon one end,) thoroughly
clean out the gravel and dirt lodged between the shoe and the
sole, and examine the sides and cleft of the frog to be sure it is
all right.

The feet of well-bred horses, kept constantly in the stable,
would become unnaturally dry, hard and contracted, unless
some means were taken to moisten and soften them. The best
method of doing this is to fasten into the foot by strips of thin
hoop-iron, pieces of thick felt cut to fit the inside of the shoe,
and cover the entire sole. These pieces of felt (or they may
be made of several thicknesses of woollen cloth) are wet and
laid into the foot and the strips of iron pressed in between the
shoe and the felt. Sometimes the feet are "stopped" or
filled with oil-cake meal, or with cow-dung, or with clay, but
the same result is more conveniently attained by the first
method. In dry, hot weather, fast-working horses unless they
have flat feet and weak soles should have the feet stuffed every
night.

It is thought by many to be an excellent plan to apply occa-
sionally to all parts of the feet of horses an ointment consisting
of equal parts of tar, lard, and beeswax, and it is probable that

204 BOARD OF xVGRICULTURE.

the hoof thus protected dries less rapidly and is rendered less
brittle.

Finally, tlie fcood groom will see to it that his horse is so fed
and exercised as to be in the best possible condition for his
work. Neither horses nor men can be preserved in perfect
health, without sunshine, fresh air, and exercise, and many fine
animals are ruined by irregular work upon highly stimulating
food. Whenever a horse is not employed in his usual daily
task, he should be exercised at a slow pace by his groom, or at
least be allowed to run for an hour or two in a clean, roomy
yard. By standing day after day in his stable, the horse
accumulates fat, liis blood becomes heated and impure, and his
tendons and muscles soft and unfit for violent exertion. At the
same time, he becomes restive for want of exercise, and with
his belly full of food is exceedingly liable to injure himself
whenever he is taken out, even though he have a driver suffi-
ciently careful to restrain him, which is not often the case.

In tliis country, it is customary to feed horses three times
during the day, and in most cases it is better to give a feed of
grain or roots at noon than to omit it. The stomacli of the
horse is small, and in a natural state he eats the greater part
of the time, laying down but seldom except a few hours at night,
and requiring but little sleep. In domestication, however, he
receives more concentrated food and needs less time for eating;
and he exercis es more and consequently demands more repose.
Horses which perform irregular, light work, like those employed
by physicians may be kept in excellent condition if properly fed
morning and evening ; but those which engage in constant
severe lal)or for several hours after the food lias passed from the
stomach, are very apt to eat too greedily when fed, and to have
attacks of colic and other disorders of the digestive system.

The amount and kind of food given to a horse should corres-
pond somewhat to the work required of him, and yet he must
eat though he do nothing. Coarse, hardy horses may live, and
work after a sort, upon hay and grass, but high-bred animals
will scarcely subsist upon such bulky innutritions food, and of
course should never be expected to do any thing more. It is
now generally conceded that valuable horses ought to receive
some grain or roots every day, whether at work or not, as it is
well known that it rc({uires careful training for several months,

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 205

to restore a liorse, which has been running in pasture for
some weeks, to condition. Still it must be remembered that a
horse can no more be kept in perfect trim for the fastest work
all the time, than a bow can always be bent without losing its
elasticity. The importance of occasional relaxation from liard
labor for both man and horse is too often overlooked or postponed,
until disease renders it indispensable. With a proper regard to
variety in food and to the real health and ability of the animal,
now frequently neglected, so long as the daily work is done,
the horse would not only look and feel much better, but last
much longer in complete soundness than he now does.

Sudden changes from green food to dry, or the contrary,
must be made with great caution, and there is more need of
mentioning it in this country because fortunately the almost
universal English habit of giving physic to horses once, twice,
or three times when such changes are made, is nearly unknown
here. In most cases, simple loosening of the bowels by means
of bran mashes and changing the food gradually, will be suffi-
cient to prevent injury to the horse, provided he be exercised
prudently after being sometime at grass. The rapid drying up
of his fluids by the use of hard food, the heating of his legs and
feet in the stable, and the relaxed condition of his joints and
muscles, all render him very liable to inflammations and strains
at this time.

The preparation of fast trotters or roadsters for matches, or
for rapid driving, consists in removing superfluous fat, wliich
obstructs the action of the lungs and heart and increases the
weight ; and in hardening the muscles and tendons. The prin-
cipal means to be relied on, are physic, sweating, exercise,
rubbing, and hard food of the best quality.

TRAINING.

By training is meant the preparation of a horse for the
performance of such labor as will thoroughly test his speed and
bottom. It consists in removing from his system superfluous
juices and fat which obstruct the action of his lungs and heart
and increase his weight, without adding to his strength ; also,
in imparting solidity and elasticity to his muscles, and firmness
and endurance to his joints, ligaments and tendons. Another
most important duty of the trainer, especially of the trotting

26»

206 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

horse, is to teach liim the proper manner of doing liis work,
and, hj judicious practice, to render him as fleet and reliable as
possible.

Tiie amount of time and labor bestowed upon a Thoroughbred
horse in fitting him for a race is very great, and would entirely
unfit a coarser animal for any considerable exertion. The
average time occupied is six montlis, and is divided into three
courses or preparations, which are each preceded by physic and
a few days' rest.

The principal feature of the first preparation is the walking
exercise, continued for two or three hours every day for six
weeks, the object being to improve the ajjpctite and season tlie
bones, sinews, ligaments, heart and lungs, and fit them to
undergo violent exercise.

After two weeks of this training, the first sweat is usually
given, by enveloping the horse in blankets and hoods and
galloping two or three miles. He is scraped and dried as
speedily as possible, one boy working upon his head and two
upon either side, and then he is covered, as usual, and walked
about until perfectly cool. By the character of tlie perspiration
the condition of the horse may be accurately determined. At
first, it will be thick, lathery and profuse, but when the horse
is fit to run it will be thin, watery and scanty. Tliese sweats
are repeated every fortnight during the first preparation, and
once a week during the remainder of the training.

When the horse appears lively after a sweat or gallop, and
feeds well, and has no unusual heat about his legs and feet, it
is an evidence that he is improving and will bear more work.
If, however, he is upset by these operations, he must have rest
and a bran mash, or a mild dose of physic to i)ut him in place
again.

Ilorses in training are commonly fed two quarts of oats, old
and perfectly free from dust, early in tlie morning, with an
equal (juaiitity of water, which should be pure and soft. After
exercise and cleaning, at about eleven o'clock they are fed two
quarts more of oats and watered ; at three o'clock they receive
another feed of the same sort, and at night another, to which
is added six or eight pounds of the best, old hay.

In the second j)reparation the horse receives two quarts more
of oats, more frequent sweats, and galloping instead of walking

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 207

exercise. The distaMce is usually four miles, and the speed is
regulated by the trainer, according to the ability of the horse.
TIic two objects to be kept in view at this stage are, first, to get
rid of offending and useless matter, by thorough sweats, and,
secondly, by exercise, to improve the wind, impart firmness and
elasticity to [the muscles, and accustom the horse to use his
powers in the best manner.

The greatest danger now is that the legs may become inflamed,
or break down from excessive galloping, and much attention,
therefore is given to them. They are hand-rubbed at least
fifteen minutes each, every day, and, if necessary, bandaged ;
and if the horse cannot bear galloping at all times, he must
be allowed to walk during his exercise.

In the final preparation two quarts more of oats, with a
quart of split beans, or of Indian meal may be allowed the
horse, and he must be galloped with special reference to the
proper performance of his work, so that he may extend himself
in a steady, regular manner, at the top of his speed, and acquire
the power of staying the distance which must be run in the
race.

To put a Thoroughbred horse in perfect condition requires
much judgment on the part of the trainer, and attention to
many points not even alluded to in these general directions ;
and the object in giving them is simply to exhibit the principles
in accordance with which the work must be accomplished.

Only the Thoroughbred horse will continue to train on, con-
stantly improving for several months, and ordinary horses in
good health and fair condition can be fitted to do all they are
capable of in a few weeks of special preparation. Of course,
horses which have become much reduced in strength will re-
quire much more time. Thus breeding mares will not recover
their full power and perfect form in less than six months after
they stop suckling, nor even then unless they have been well
kept.

To fit a match trotter to make his fastest time, it is necessary
to bestow upon him just that amount of training, by means of
physic or mashes, sweats, "walking and trotting exercise, and
nutritious food, which will bring him to the highest possible
condition, without getting him sore or off his feed ; and not
less important is that practice and education in the pace itself

208 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

which only a skilful driver can give, and without which condi-
tion is useless.

It is the distinguishing excellence of the American trotter,
not merely to make time, but to trot squarely and evenly,
moving his legs in true trotting rhythm. In no other country
can be found horses capable of trotting a mile in less than two
and one-half minutes, and nowhere else such absolutely per-
fect trotters as Ethan Allen. The greatest difficulty in the
training of trotters is the tendency manifested by most horses,
and especially those containing much thorough blood, to go in
an irregular or mixed trot, when urged to the top of their
speed, which has doubtless given rise to the opinion of many
foreigners that the fast trot is the false or unnatural gait. How-
ever applicable this remark may be to most horses especially in
other countries, it is certain that some horses are natural
trotters from their peculiar structure, which is the result of
the cultivation of this pace in their progenitors, often for sev-
eral generations. Even while sucking colts, they will frequently
exhil)it the square, open, long-reaching stride which marks the
genuine trotter, and after years of good driving and practice,
they can trot faster than they can gallop.

While Thoroughbred horses rarely bend the fore leg suffi-
ciently in trotting, others, and especially the Canadian, throw
up the knee in an unsightly and useless manner, wasting power,
and appearing to move faster than they actually do. They are
often quick and stout, and as they are low and sloping behind
and heavy forward, they seem striving to go np rather than
onwards, and arc not inappropriately said to " climb."

Other horses instead of spreading their hind legs and carry-
ing both hind feet past the outside of their fore legs in a sym-
metrical manner, acquire the awkward habit of throwing one
of them between their fore legs, and therefore arc neither square
nor level trotters, and are very liable to overreach, or cut the
heels or quarters of the fore feet with the hind shoes. These
horses are said to " hitch," and many do it in such a way that
they seem to trot forward and gallop beliind, and spirited trot-
ters are frccpiently forced to this gate by fast driving with a
heavy load. The celebrated Orloff trotters of Russia are said
to go with astonishing swiftness at this trotting gallop, some-
times making fifteen to twenty miles an hour on the road.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 209

Again, many very fleet horses when overdriven, adopt a dis-
agreeable gait, which seems to be a cross between a pace and a
trot in which 'the two legs of one side are raised almost but not
quite simultaneously. Such horses are said to " single," or to
be " single footed."

When a trotter in rapid motion becomes weary, or overex-
cited, or loses his step or balance from any cause, he usually
begins to gallop, or in technical language he " flies up " or
" breaks up." The principal point in the art of driving, which
so few acquire in perfection is this, namely: to keep the horse
at the top of his pace without crowding him off his logs, and
next in importance is the power of quickly bringing him down
to his trot again after an unavoidable break.

Young horses should rarely be urged to a break, and if they
show the least inclination to hitch or single they must be kept
back to a trot which they can perform correctly. The gait of
many naturally fine trotters is ruined by too much haste and
harshness in training. Horses should not be put to severe work
in trotting before six years of age, and do not arrive at their
greatest speed before they are ten or twelve. Flora Temple in
her first match on the Union Course, when five years old, trotted
the mile in two minutes and forty-nine seconds ; when eight
years old she trotted in two twenty-seven ; when eleven years
old in two twenty-four and a half, and when fifteen years old
she astonished the world by trotting a full mile at Kalamazoo,
Michigan, in two minutes nineteen and three-quarters seconds.
It has been affirmed, though probably without sufficient
reason, that the colts of old mares are more likely to be fast
trotters than those of younger ones. The dam of Flora was
five years of age when she produced the " phenomenon " of
the trotting track, and although still breeding on the farm of
Mr. Alexander of Kentucky, has not yet produced the equal
of her first born.

While it is desirable that fast trotters should bear somewhat
upon the bit, they should not be allowed to draw the load with
the reins, because they not only exhaust themselves and their
drivers unnecessarily, but are very apt to be choked by having
the jowls drawn back against the neck. So much apparent
aid, however, do many trotters receive from a stiff, steady pull
upon the bit, that they seem to be thus enabled to trot much

210 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

more evenly and rapidly than they otherwise could. To what
extent this reliance upon the driver is a mere useless habit, it
is difTicult to decide ; still it should be recollected that even tlie
galloping racer requires to be " held together " by his jockey
rider, and the trotter at high speed certainly needs it much
more from the peculiar character of his gait.

Although three minute trotters are now so numerous, it is
only about forty years since a match against time was made
with a wager of one thousand dollars, that no horse could be
produced which could trot a mile in tlu'ce minutes. A Massa-
chusetts horse, called Boston Blue won the money and the
honor in 1818.

SHOEING.

It is unnecessary here to describe minutely the structure of
the horse's foot or to give complete directions for fitting and
fastening on a shoe. Nevertheless, since injury to the feet,
whether from neglect or bad treatment, is ruinous to the horse,
it seems desirable to make a few suggestions upon this very
important matter.

Mr. William Miles, in his excellent essay on this subject,
republished and distributed gratuitously by the Massachusetts
Society lor the Promotion of Agriculture, gives the following
reasons why his horses always had good feet: " First, they arc
all shod with few nails, so placed in the shoe as to permit the
foot to expand every time they move ; secondly, they all live in
boxes instead of stalls, and can move whenever they please ;
thirdly, they have two hours daily walking exercise, when they
are not at Avork ; and fourthly, they are never tied in the
stable," To these four he should have added the following :
fifthly, their feet are never washed when they come in from
work, but are nicely cleaned with the pick and brush ; sixthly,
they are never allowed to become dry and hard, but are stopped
with cow-dung every night, and covered for a few hours every
morning with a wet swab or piece of thick felt buckled around
the foot ; and finally, they are smeared every morning with a
preparation formed by melting together lard, honey, tar, bees-
wax and glycerine.

The essential points to be regarded in shoeing a horse are
few and simple. In the first place, the foot should be pared

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 211

down so as to remove all siiperfluous horn, and leave a smooth
and level surface to receive the shoe. Those feet which are at
all inclined to he high and narrow, should he well cut down at
the heel, but fiat feet will not bear it, and do not need it.
"With regard to the sole of the foot, the best authorities differ ;
but it seems, on the whole, advisable, for the most part, to let
it alone, as it greatly protects the internal parts of the foot
from bruises and from sudden variations of temperature, and
will dry less rapidly when thick. Of course it must be cut
away sufficiently to prevent it from receiving any pressure from
the shoe, which must, however, be " seated" to avoid this and
make it possible to pass the point of the pick between the sole
and the shoe.

The ragged portions of the frog should be trimmed off, but
the substance of it should never be unnecessarily diminished,
as it is very properly called the " life of the foot." The appear-
ance of the frog affords a most reliable evidence respecting the
past and present health of the horse's foot.

The next step is the selection of a proper shoe and fitting it
to the foot, and this requires judgment and mechanical skill on
the part of the sheer. The web of the shoe should be thick or
thin, narrow or wide, according to the form of the foot, the
work of the horse and the character of the roads.

The feet of Arabian horses are proverbially good, and they
are shod with a plate of iron covering the entire sole and frog,
except a small hole in the centre of the shoe. This protects
the whole foot, and probably is beneficial by bringing some
pressure upon the frog, which is adapted by nature to receive it.

The outer edge of the shoe should exactly fit the foot, whatever
its shape, except at the heels, where it may be suffered to project
very slightly to allow room for the hoof to expand when weight
is thrown upon it in going. Spreading the heels of a shoe can
have no effect in expanding the foot, as is sometimes imagined.
If there were no danger that the horse would step on them, it
might perhaps be of service to narrow-heeled horses to spread
the shoes somewhat, and thus furnish a broader base of support
for the foot, especially where high corks are used. Still it is
better as a general rule to adhere to the form of the foot as the
guide to the proper form of the shoe.

212 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Tlie great secret of good shoeing consists in so fitting the
shoe to the bottom of the foot that it bears equally upon every
part of the crust, and this ought always to be perfectly done
before a nail is driven. The practice of applying the hot shoe
to the hoof is not to be commended, and it should never beheld
on the foot for a moment, but it is the only means by "which an
ordinary smith can get a perfect fit, which is indispensable.

There should be a smooth, level space upon the foot-surface
of the shoe, from quarter to half an inch wide for the crust to
rest upon, and it is especially important that this portion be
absolutely level at the heels, so that they may expand and con-
tract readily. Careless and ignorant workmen often leave this
part of the- shoe inclined inward, so as to prevent entirely the
the natural expansion of the hoof. Others, on the contrary,
are so excessively knowing as to make the inclination outwards,
so as to produce an abnormal expansion by a sort of wedge
forced into the foot at every step of the horse. It is certain
that no foot can either be prevented from contraction or cured
of it by any mechanical process. The disease, where it exists,
is within the foot, and the hoof will not be larger than the parts
it covers.

There should be from five to seven nail-holes in each shoe,
two or three of them upon the inside of the toe, and the others
upon the outside, extending back two-thirds of the way to the
heel. The holes should pass straight through the shoe, and be
sufficiently large to admit the nail freely, and the fuller or
groove in which the holes are made, should be wide enough
to receive the heads of the nails.

Horses with flat or tender feet will go much better, especially
upon pavements and frozen or stony roads, if a piece of leather
or vulcanized rubber be placed between the shoe and the foot.
Before this is done, the sole should be smeared with tar and
stuffed with oakum, so as to fill the concavity of the foot upon
either side of the frog.

In fastening on the shoe, the nails should be driven straight
through the shoe, and thus prevented from passing up the side
of the hoof, as is too often the case. The lower part of the
shell of the foot is thicker, and tougher, and consequently holds
the nail much better than the middle or upper portion, and
there is also great danger of pricking the sensitive part of the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 213

foot, wlieii the nails arc so driven that only the point comes out
of the horn, Tiie clinches should always be made in the
stoutest part of the nail, and neatly buried in the hoof, with
the hammer, and never afterwards weakened by filing. Indeed
the rasp should very rarely be used upon the foot, after the
shoe is on, except at the toe, and it should never be aj)plied
above the clinches.

The shoes of horses at work should be carefully examined
every day to see that they are neither loose nor in any way out of
place ; and they ought to be reset or renewed at least once in
two months, and upon valuable horses with good feet, once a
month, whether they become loose or not. Upon flat and
weak-footed horses, there is little danger that they will remain
fast long enough to do any injury, and in such cases, they may
safely be allowed to go unchanged, if they will, the full eight
weeks.

Horses running in pasture may be suffered to be without
shoes, if their feet are strong, but it is much safer lo put tips
or short shoes upon their toes, to prevent the hoof from being
broken. The feet of unshod colts should be pared down as
often as they need it, since if neglected, they may become
permanently misshapen, and the unnatural strain upon the
pastern, caused by the excessive length of the toe, is very apt
to produce ringbone.

EDUCATION OF HORSES.

Horses, like men, may be wonderfully improved by a good
education, being rendered more gentle, affectionate, intelligent
and useful, and thus in every respect more valuable. There is,
however, a very great difference in the intelligence and temper
of horses, some being quick of comprehension and others
excessively stupid — some pleasant and willing under all cir-
cumstances and others as constantly ill-tempered and perverse.
These mental and moral characteristics are generally expressed
in the countenance and features of the horse as unmistakably
as in those of a man, and persons who have never given atten-
tion to the physiognomy of horses will be surprised to observe
the very obvious differences apparent even among those of tlie
same breed. To a few individuals only seems to be given the
privilege of reading with almost unerring skill by some natural
27*

214 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

faculty tlie characters of men and horses as depicted upon their
countenances. It has been said, doubtless with much truth,
that Mr. John S. Rarey,the famous horse-breaker, was familiar
with every thought and feeling of which a horse was capable,
and that this knowledge, resulting in part from his extensive
experience and still more from his natural insight into the
character of the horse, was the principal cause of his astonish-
ing boldness and marvellous success. If there be any talent
born in the man, it is the faculty to govern and to teach, and
lience really excellent instructors are by no means numerous.
There are two very unlike kinds of government — the one com-
mon to men and beasts, and which may be called the govern-
ment of brute force or of fear, and the other practiced by those
intelligent and humane individuals who are able to appreciate
and apply it, and which may be called the government of kind-
ness. Among animals the stoutest and fiercest bear undisputed
sway over their weaker companions, simply because they are
sure to inflict bodily injury upon all offenders ; and the same
principle is commonly employed by men in the discipline and
training of both human beings and dumb beasts. If the sailor,
or soldier, or school-boy, or child is disobedient, severe corporal
punishment is the almost universal consequence with very
sliglit regard to the circumstances which may have attended
the commission of the fault. In the same way horses, oxen and
other domestic animals are habitually flogged and abused with-
out the least consideration of causes or results. Consequently?
they have neither love for, nor confidence in, their masters, and
instead of laboring with a cheerful spirit to the best advantage,
they become either stupid, spiritless drudges, or nervous and
unmanageable machines, or finally revengeful, fighting brutes,
disposed to do as little good and as much harm as possible.

In the government of kindness it may be necessary to resort
to severe measures in special cases, but instead of incessant
threatening and whipping by which all the worst passions are
aroused, habitual and ready obedience is secured by rational
means. In the management of animals and young children, a
correct method is even more important than in the case of men,
because they are incapable of reasoning upon the subject, and
therefore of inferring or supplying any thing which may be
omitted in the instructions. They arc also unable to under-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 215

stand the meaning of language, and of course should be dealt
with very patiently. The instructor should be very careful to
teach but one thing at a time, and to employ no harsh words
nor punishment until quite certain that his pupil comprehends
distinctly the thing required and is able to perform it.

The first step in the education of any animal is to gain his
confidence, so that he has no wildness through fear that he
may be injured. "When young, all animals are easily tamed by
gentle treatment, handling and feeding with such things as
they particularly fancy. The young of domesticated animals
are much less inclined to be suspicious of man than those of
wild animals, and if properly treated would never need any
training. But it often happens that colts, for example, are
never handled until old enough to break, and are therefore
afraid of almost everything; and the first, most troublesome,
and most important part of their education, is to secure their
entire confidence, and this should be accomplished in the
kindest and most quiet manner possible.

The common expression, " breaking a colt," has obvious
reference to a very different practice from that to be recom-
mended in this chapter. Instead of attempting to allay the
natural alarm of the wild colt, the usual method is to secure
him with a rope after an exciting chase, and permit him to pull
and plunge until the fastening gives way, his neck breaks, or
he becomes so exhausted as to give up the contest for the time.
Then a reckless rider mounts him with whip and spur, render-
ing him almost frantic with fear and torture. After a violent
struggle, in which perhaps he throws his rider and very likely
himself, he is relieved of this torment to undergo another. He
is enveloped in a harness as in a net and securely attached to a
wagon, with one or two men at his head and one holding the
reins. He knows nothing of the ol)jcct in thus entangling him,
and has no confidence in man, and being ignorant of bits and
collars and horse-talk, when told to go of course does not obey;
then he is whipped for his stupidity in not understanding
English, which is taken for obstinacy ; then he attempts to rush
forward, but is checked by a violent pull on the bit, and in his
despair either runs back and throws himself down and is for-
ever after balky, or kicks and clears himself, which he will
never forget, or makes another more desperate struggle to go

216 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

forward, becomes regardless of the bit, and runs away either
quite unmanageable or is stopped after being worried out with
fright and exertion. After these lessons, if he be a colt of high
spirit, he will shy and start at many strange objects for which
being flogged he will always associate the frightful objects and
the flogging as necessarily connected, and be more frightened
than before. If poorly kept and worked regularly, an ordinary,
good-tempered colt will in time become a tolerably safe and
useful horse even with such an education, but very spirited and
plucky animals are almost sure to acquire some dangerous or
troublesome vices.

This system of breaking colts is founded upon the govern-
ment of brute force or fear, and has been in use in various
forms from the earliest times. Tlie horse is subdued at the
present time in different countries by various means on this
same general plan.

Horses and other animals may be completely subdued by
choking, starvation, bleeding, physic, want of sleep, violent
exercise, pain, or any other means by which their strength and
courage are destroyed, so that they can make little or no
resistance.

In Chili, horses are exhausted and subdued by worrying
them constantly in the stall until they lie down in despair or
fall down from weakness, which will generally happen in about
forty-eight hours. They are then saddled or hai-nesscd, and if
refractory, the cruel process is continued until they become
gentle.

On the pampas of South America wild horses are caught
with the lasso, thrown to the ground, saddled and bridled, and
ridden with whip and spur until completely exhausted and per-
fectly submissive. The long hair of their tails is then squared
off with a knife to indicate that they are broken, and they are
again turned loose. Tliis method of riding a horse quiet was
adopted by Alexander in breaking Bucephalus, and with slight
variations is now employed in Australia, in Mexico, and among
the Indians of North America, k^onie of the latter are said to
have the custom of breathing into the nostrils of the horse while
prostrate upon the ground, or so hobbled as to be in a helpless
condition, with the idea that it inspires him with confidence.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 217

It is well known that a horse always endeavors to touch
every object new and strange to him with his nose, and this has
led to the opinion that he is peculiarly affected by the odor of
things about him. This is, however, a mistake, as tlie horse
employs his nose, which is very sensitive and covered with long
hairs or feelers, principally for examining objects by the sense
of feeling, since he is not favored with a sensitive hand, or foot,
or proboscis.

Many impostors have pretended that by the use of certain
odoriferous substances tlicy could gain a complete mastery over
the horse. Among the articles recommended for their facinat-
ing power are the excrescences found on the inside of the
horses' legs which are to be pulverized and blown into the
nostrils ; the sweat of the arm-pits upon the hands of the oper-
ator, or certain volatile oils, as the oils of rhodium, or of
origanum.

It is perfectly absurd to suppose that any such substances
can produce any decided or desirable effect upon the horse,
either in taming or in educating him, and many of those who
have employed them with apparent success, have confessed that
they did so only to deceive, and really derived no benefit from
their use.

It is a well-established fact that no animal, unless frantic
with pain or rage, will venture to attack a perfectly fearless
man who has the opportunity of fixing his eyes steadily upon
those of his opponent. This superiority of man is the result
merely of the courage which he exhibits because of his greater
intelligence and his ability to rely upon weapons of his inven-
tion. When one animal finds himself suddenly in the presence
of another fierce and powerful one, he does not stop to delib-
erate, but immediately rushes to the conflict, or retreats in
haste, while his enemy takes the opposite course with as little
delay. But when he confronts a man who knows that his safety
depends upon his standing unmoved, or who relies upon some
artificial means of defense, the animal is amazed at his boldness,
hesitates to begin the attack, and soon slinks away in fear.
This calm courage so remarkably possessed by Mr. Rarey,
enables him successfully to encounter with no other means of
defense than a small whip, and thoroughly to subjugate with

218 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

the aid of a few straps such ferocious brutes as Stafford, Cruiser
and Peacock.

Before proceeding to describe the method of treatment best
adapted to render a colt, or a wild or vicious horse gentle and
tractable, it is but just to acknowledge the credit due to
the most famous and absolutely invincible horse-breaker, to
whom the world is indebted for the only thoroughly rational
and universally applicable system of horse-education.

With these preliminary remarks, we will now endeavor to
describe the best method of educating young horses, and of
subduing and managing those which have acquired dangerous
or disagreeable habits.

If possible, the colt, from the very first, should be rendered
perfectly gentle and fearless by frequent handling of all parts
of his body and the kindest treatment. "When a few weeks old,
he should be halter-broken. This is an important part of the
breaking in of the horse, at whatever age undertaken, and
should be accomplished thoroughly, and yet without violence.
The halter should be of leather, and well fitted to the head, so
as not to cause any unnecessary pain. The most objectionable
of all halters is the common one of rope, with a running noose .
about the nose. This is unfit for any horse, and especially for
a young one, and many horses have become addicted to tlie
exceedingly annoying trick of pulling on the lialter Ijy its use.
The common practice of hitching a colt to a post and letting
him pull until he learns that he cannot get loose, is unsafe and
unkind, as he becomes frightened and angry, and sometimes
hijures himself. Neitlier should lie be suffered to drag a man
at the end of the halter, and throw himself down and exhaust
himself in struggles for liberty. In these ways he learns how
to pull, and how stout he is in comparison with a man, two
things he should never know.

In the first place, put tlie halter upon the colt any time after
he is six weeks old, and let him become accustomed to it. Then
in a stable or small yard, alone and very quietly, take hold of
the halter near his head, and turn him short around, first one
way and then the other, but do not allow him to pull cither
forward or backward with much force. If he should strive to
get away, yield somewhat until he learns that he is expected to
obey a slight })ull upon the head, and that he is not to be

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 219

injured because deprived of freedom. Do not use any
blows or loud words, but rather gentle patting and coaxing,
which may be employed to great advantage throughout the
education of the colt. It is also an excellent practice to reward
and gratify him, when old enough, by a handful of oats, an
apple, or potatoe, or piece of carrot. There is no better way
of soothing the ruffled feelings, imparting confidence or allaying
anger, than this.

After the colt has learned to follow the halter in the stable, or
yard, lead him about in some quiet place, and if he will not go,
do not nndertake to drag him, nor whip him, but turn him
round and round, which he cannot resist, until he chooses to
move along in the direction you wish to take, and do not become
impatient, even though you are compelled to wait some time
before he will enter the stable door, pass through a gate or
step over bars.

Not until he leads well, should you venture to hitch him, and
then, with much caution. It is best, perhaps, first to tie him in
the centre of a wide stall, with some thing to eat before him ;
and, if convenient, a partition or rope behind him to prevent
a straight pull backwards, if he should be inclined to try
one. After this he may be fastened in a quiet place out of doors,
and will very seldom endeavor to break loose.

If, however, a colt or horse should acquire the habit of pull-
ing at the halter, and throwing himself down if unable to get
away, there are many remedies proposed, of which the following
are perhaps the best.

First, throw a rope fifteen or twenty feet long over the limb of
a tree, ten or twelve feet from the ground, and attach a heavy
stone or other weight to one end. Now hitch the pulling horse
to the other end, and when he pulls he will raise the stone from
the ground, and be able to step backward until the disagreeable
weight hauling up his nose, persuades him again to approach
the tree. After pulling awhile at the yielding, but uncon-
querable stone, many horses become quite disheartened, and
abandon the vicious habit.

Secondly, fasten the horse in a stall with a halter about four
feet long, and attach securely to his hind pasterns a rope, which
should be tied to the manger in front of the horse, so short that
when he steps back to pull, the rope upon his feet receives the

220 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

strain instead of the halter, and he unexpectedly finds himself
seated upon his rump.

Thirdly, with otherwise incorrigible horses, the cold l)alh may
be tried, by fasteuinf^ the puller to a post upon the bank of a
deep river or pond, so that when he pulls it shall go towards
the water. As soon as the horse begins a vigorous pull, let go
the fastening, and thus precipitate him into the harmless liquid.

This vice is often a difficult one to cure, as some horses seem
to be almost insane with fear at finding themselves fastened,
and can never be left with safety, unless so securely tied that
they cannot possibly break loose. Still, with judicious treat-
ment, almost all can be induced to refrain from the practice.
It is, however, much better and easier to halter-break colts so
that they will not pull, than to make them relinquish the
habit after it has been acquired.

The sucking colt is usually weaned about four months of age,
and will then very gladly receive attentions from his master,
lie should be fed from the hand, and may easily be taught a
variety of amusing tricks, which will have the two-fold advan-
tage of keeping up an interest in the colt and securing better
care for him, and of rendering him intelligent, fearless and
affectionate. Among the numerous tricks commonly taught to
learned ponies, exhibited in circuses, pcrliaps the following are
best adapted for general use in the education of colts, namely:
to come when called, to lie down, to roll over, to sit up, to
sliake hands, to nuike a bow, and to circle, that is to walk,
trot or gallop in a circle, and to turn as commanded.

In teaching a colt to do these tricks, it is best to give him
one or two lessons, of half an hour each, every day, and he will
pay better attention, and appreciate your gifts of food more, if
he have an empty stomach. Early in the morning, before he
is fed, is the most favorable time. Begin with simple things,
and repeat all the tricks in the same order at each lesson, until
they arc familiar. Constantly reiterate the commands in the
same form so that he may understand them perfectly, and
always emj^loy persuasion instead of force until your pujDil
becomes acquainted with his lessons, after which he may be
compelled to obey.

To come ichcn called. — After a colt has been well broken to
the halter he maybe taught to follow, or to approach his master
when told to do so, in the following manner.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 221

Attach a small cord twelve or fifteen feet in length to his
halter or bit, and lead him into the training inclosure, which
may be a barn floor, or a small yard with a tight, high fence.
Then, holding the cord in the left hand, and a long straight
whip in the right, step in front of the colt about six feet from
him, and say, " Come here, Charley," or whatever his name may
be, at the same time switching his fore-legs lightly to induce a
start. Draw him to you gently by the cord, and then pat him
on the forehead, and reward him with a piece of bread, a hand-
ful of oats, or something of the kind. Repeat this practice
until he will come quickly, though distant the whole length of
the cord. After a few lessons, the halter may be removed, and
he will readily obey the order when given, or come at the crack
of the whip. As soon as he has learned to have implicit confi-
dence in you, and to feel assured that you not only will not
injure him, but will reward him for quick obedience, he maybe
taken into an open field or the highway, and will soon learn to
come when called as certainly as a dog.

This is an easy, but important trick, because it is readily
understood by the colt, and will furnish a good means of deter-
mining whether he has acquired the willingness and confidence
necessary in lys subsequent education. Be very cautious about
the use of the whip, or of harsh language, and remember that
perfect, cheerful obedience is your object, and that it can only
be secured by great patience and gentleness.

To lie down. — Having the colt in the yard, with his bridle on,
take hold of the rein near the bit with your left hand, raise his
nigh fore-foot with your right hand. Now repeat the words,
" Lie down, sir," and gently draw his fore-foot back towards his
hind feet, and his head downwards and backwards. "Whenever
he becomes uneasy or weary, and turns around or straightens
up, let him have his own way ; but as soon as he permit, renew
the attempt as before, commanding him constantly to " Lie
down." He will, after a while, either lie down of his own accord,
or allow you to push him over gently with your shoulder.
While he is down feed and caress him until he becomes perfectly
quiet, and seems to be rested. Repeat this operation twice
every day, until the colt will lie down as soon as told to do so,
provided you pull down his head and gently tap his fore-leg.

28*

222 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

After this he will readily learn with a little practice to obey the
command only.

If the cult be obstinate, he may be forced to lie down by
strapping up his nigh fore-leg, and fastening a strap or rope
around the pastern of the off fore-leg; then holding firmly by
the bit with the left hand, crowd against the colt with your
shoulder so as to compel him to step, and then pull up with
your right hand the off fore-foot, so as to bring him uj^on his
knees. This is a very uncomfortable position, and he will soon
either lie down himself, or suffer you to push him over.
Then feed and pat him, and after he appears calm allow him to
get up. Repeat this every day, until he will obey the word of
command, which should be constantly reiterated during the
progress of the lesson.

It is sometimes desirable to hold a horse down, and this may
be easily done by stepping on his mane with one foot, and turn-
ing his nose upward, since in this way he is prevented from
getting any of his feet under him.

Most horses may be kept down by placing the knee upon the
withers and pulling the nose up towards the same point. Of
course for tbe performance of painful operations, it will be
necessary to bind the feet in addition to the above.

Tu roll over. — When the colt will lie down willingly, he may
be taught to roll over as often as told to do so, by taking hold
of his fore and hind feet, and turning him over as many times
as may be necessary, repeating every time the command, "Roll
over, sir."

To sit up. — The horse, in rising from a recumbent position,
first turns on to his belly, throws out his fore-feet, and raising
himself on them, springs forward and rises on his hind feet.

To teach a colt to sit up like a dog, take him into the yard
and make him lie down. With the aid of a rein over his neck
compel him to turn on to his belly, and then stretch out his
fore feet in front of him. Tell him to sit up, and as he rises on
his fore feet stop him in the desired position by means of the
reins. Retain him in a sitting posture but a few moments,
caressing, feeding, and patting him as much as possible. Alter
a few repetitions he will assume the attitude as soon as told to
do so.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 223 •

If the colt be not very tractable, you can (iompcl him to sit
up by passing a rope over his neck between his fore-legs and
then around his off hind fetlock. Taking a firm hold of the
end of the rope with your right hand and thus drawing the liind
foot of the colt forward, you can prevent the possibility of his
rising without your permission. In very difficult cases this rope
may be held by an assistant, though as a general rule, it is
much better to operate entirely alone.

To shake hands. — In teaching the colt this and many of the
following tricks, the training yard will be found the most
convenient place.

Place yourself directly before the colt, and reach out your
hand for his foot, at tiie same time hitting him gently on the
fore-leg with your whip. He will soon begin to step or paw,
and then you are to take hold of his foot and bring it towards
you, talking to him pleasantly the while, and rewarding him for
his real or supposed obedience in the usual manner.

By a little practice, a colt may be easily trained to approach,
make a bow, and shake hands, even without the use of halter
or whip, which makes him appear both intelligent and polite.

To make a bow. — Place yourself before the colt in any con-
venient place, and make a low bow to him, saying, at the same
time, "How are you, Charley ?" or, " Good morning," or some-
thing of the sort. As you thus salute him, touch him on the
breast with your whip, or a sharp stick. This will irritate him
and cause him to nod his head in anger, or in endeavoring to
bite the stick, or whatever touches him. This nod you are to
accept as a bow, though not intended as such, and for this you
must caress and reward him with some agreeable morsel. After
a few lessons he will nod his head when saluted, without being
touched.

To circle. — Take the colt into the yard, turn him loose, and
start him walking around you. Then, after two or three
circuits, say to him, " Turn, sir," at the same time stopping
him with your whip. Now pat and feed him, and repeat as
often as may be necessary, at different rates of speed, until he
will circle at any required gait, and turn at the crack of the
whip, or the word of command. You may now easily train
him to perform this trick in the street, or elsewhere, without a
halter.

224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Persons desiring furtlicr instructions for teaching colts or
horses to perform a great number of curious, and some almost
incredil)le feats, are referred to Dr. G. H. Sutherland, of Do
Kalb, New Yoi'k, who possesses remarkable skill in the art of
educating horses, whether for work or for play.

While the colt is young, he should also be made familiar with
those things by which horses are most commonly frightened,
because he is then more easily managed, will be rendered
thereby habitually fearless and confident, and thus be better
prepared for breaking to the harness and the saddle.

The method of preventing a horse from being frightened at
certain objects by which he is always startled or is rendered
unmanageable, is precisely the same in principle as that to be
adopted with the colt. If, however, it be difficult or impossible
to hold the horse tolerably still in the presence of the frightful
object, it is necessary to take away his power of resistance, by
strapping up his nigh fore-leg. This is done by winding a strap
once or twice around the pastern, and then bending the leg so
as to bring the foot close to the elbow, and buckling the strap
snugly around the arm. Upon three legs most horses are
perfectly controllable.

A horse will never fear that which he knows from careful
examination and experience will not injure him. llis first
impulse upon hearing or seeing any thing strange, is to run
from it. If, however, that be impossible, or if the sound be
constant or often repeated, or if the alarming object remains
unmoved, or frequently returns to view, he soon learns that he
is unharmed, and acts accordingly. Thus almost all horses,
with judicious treatment, soon become perfectly indifferent to
the smoking, puffing, rattling, screaming monster, called a loco-
motive, which at first seems to them a most terrible combination
of frightful sounds and sights. The following important prin-
ciples are of constant application in the education of horses.

First. Any horse may be so educated as to do cheerfully
any thing within his power.

Second. The supremacy of man over the horse is the result
of his superior intelligence, which enables him to manage the
horse in sucli a way that he cannot successfully oppose or con-
tend with his master. Therefore the horse, if properly instructed,
will never be conscious of his real ability to resist or thwart the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 225

wishes of man, because prevented by good treatment from
attempting to exercise it, or by mechanical contrivances from
using it advantageously when he undertakes to do so.

Third. The horse, having no reasoning faculty, imagines
liimself nearly helpless when rendered so in any part of his
body. Hence the custom of sewing a vicious horse's ears
together to make him quiet in shoeing, and the great advantage
of strapping up the fore-leg, by which refractory horses may
generally be made completely tractable.

Fourth. A horse once thoroughly subdued by any means
seldom forgets it, especially if this be done as in the Rarey
method, without the infliction of pain, and without exciting his
fear or anger unnecessarily.

Fifth. A horse will be readily convinced that any frightful
object is harmless, provided he be enabled or required to exam-
ine it thoroughly by seeing, smelling, and feeling it, especially
with the nose or muzzle.

Sixth. The horse should learn to respect or fear, to obey, to
love, and to feel confidence in his master.

Seventh. Tiie whip should only be used to command atten-
tion, and to frighten tlie horse when doing wrong, or refusing
to' obey, and becomes worse than useless as soon as it arouses a
disposition to fight or resist. Fear and anger never exist
together in the horse, and the latter passion should never be
excited if it can possibly be avoided.

Eighth. To educate horses in the best manner, a man should
have complete control of his temper, and never exhibit in his
countenance or voice either rage or anxiety.

In accordance with the fifth principle, the colt should be
made familiar with the various objects likely to startle him in
after life, by bringing him near to them in as gentle a manner
as possible, and compelling him to rub his nose upon them, or
stand near them until his fear is gone. For example, if the
sight and smell of a robe a few feet distant alarm him, take
him alone in the yard and lead him to the robe, and rub it
upon his head and neck, and soon he will permit you to throw
it on to his body, or over his head, or even to tie it to his tail,
without the least appearance of fear.

To accustom a colt to a drum, proceed in a similar manner.
Let him touch it with his nose, rub it against his neck and

226 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

sides, and place it on liis back. Then tap it lightly with the
finger, and soon you may play upon it vigorously, even while
it rests u])on his back, and he will be quite inditTerent.

To render a colt familiar with the sound of a gun, begin by
snapping percussion caps, at the same time holding the colt by
the halter loosely in the yard, and when he becomes accustomed
to them, fire a pistol or a gun until he pays no attention to the
report. Do not manifest any alarm by seizing hold of his head,
as if you expected him to jump, but be as careless as possible,
patting and feeding the colt between the shots, and he will soon
permit you to shoot from his back. When you attempt this,
appear as calm as ever, and do not gather up the reins and
clutch his body with your legs just before you fire, because if
you do he will certainly jump, whether your gun goes oif or
not.

In a similar manner, proceed with an umbrella and parasol,
opening and shutting them close to the colt, rubbing them upon
him, and holding them over his head and body till he cares
notliing for them.

Then teach him that a newspaper, though it is white, and
rustles, is a perfectly harmless article, by rubbing him with it,
throwing it upon him like a blanket, dragging it about upon
the ground by a string, and riding him with it in the hand.

To accustom him to the cars*, lead him to the depot and permit
him to sec them at rest, and examine them with care, even to
touching them. Then allow him to see them moving, and, at
the same time, lead him about in the vicinity as if nothing
important was being done.

When once you commence to familiarize a colt or horse to any
thing which frightens him do not leave the work half done, but
repeat the lessons patiently day after day, if need be, until he
manifests no fear. Otherwise his terror will only be increased
by the experiment and he will be rendered more frantic and
unmanageable than before.

At any time after he is one year old, the colt may be bitted,
or accustomed to the bit. This is done by putting on him a
nicely fitting bridle with a thick snafile or jointed bit about
four and one half inches long. To the joint in the centre of
the bit may be loosely attached some tags of iron an inch or
so in length, which, resting upon the tongue, will cause the colt

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 227

to champ the bit and prevent liim from resting his head upon
it as a dead weight. This bridle should be worn every day for
an hour or two until he becomes acquainted with it. Tlien
reins may be used to bring the head into a good position and
teach the colt to give his mouth to the bit. These reins should
never be buckled so tight as to cause pain from the unnatural
attitude nor should they be fastened so as to hold the head in
a constrained position more than from fifteen to thirty minutes
at a time. A padded surcingle with a crupper and with straps
from the back-strap at the hips to the sides of the surcingle, is
the only bitting apparatus necessary, although a dumb jockey
such as may be procured at the saddlers in cities is very conve-
nient. To fetch up the head, a common check or bearing rein
is needed, and to bring in the nose so as to make the face of the
colt vertical, another pair of reins should pass from the bit to
the sides of the surcingle upon which buckles may be fastened.

In order that a colt should carry a good head and neck the
parts themselves must be rightly formed and the neck properly
joined to sloping shoulders. The Thoroughbred horse surpasses
all others in the form and carriage of these parts, and it is
utterly Tiseless to attempt to make a short, thick-necked, big-
headed horse imitate the elegance and beauty of the perfectly
formed animal. If he have spirit enough he may generally be
made to carry his head up and his nose in, but always with an
air of stiffness and awkwardness. Great care must be exercised
not to choke horses with thick necks and heavy jowls with the
throatlatch, because, although suf]ficiently loose when the head
is free, it is often rendered painfully tight when the head is
checked up and brouglit into place. The wind also of such
horses is very liable to injury from the pressure upon the
windpipe in the constrained position of the head.

The main object in bitting a colt should be to induce him to
yield his nose to the pressure of the bit and to form what is
technically called a good or fine mouth. The possession of
such a mouth is one of the most desirable accomplishments
either for a saddle or driving horse and one in which American
horses are usually deficient. A well formed and properly bitted
horse never needs martingales, which have a decided tendency
to render the mouth of a horse insensible and unyielding and
ought never to be used except upon hard-pulling trotters ; and

228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

yet but few of our horses can be managed with any degree of
comfort without them.

By the proper use of the curb-bit the head of the colt and of
the older horse may often be brought into place when every
other means proves unavailing. This bit may be used upon
the horse while standing by his side, in the saddle or in driving,
but requires much prudence and judgment on the par4; of the
master. It must not be employed too severely nor too con-
stantly, but so as to make the horse feel that he must obey and
yet not so as to frighten or enrage him. The custom of driving
with a curb-bit is much more prevalent in England than in this
country, and very many American horses would be safer,
pleasantcr, and more beautiful if driven in this way.

In breaking the colt to the saddle, which should not be done
before he is four years old, there will be very little trouble
provided he has been educated according to the directions
heretofore given. As soon as he is satisfied from examination
that the saddle will not harm him remove the stirrups and
place it upon his back. Do not girth it too tight at first, nor
attempt to mount before he has become accustomed to it.
Then lead him to a block eighteen inches high in the yard or
barn floor and step on to the block, and at the same time talk
to him and caress him. Then carefully put on the stirrups and
placing the right hand over on to the off side of the saddle,
bear your weight upon it and rise very quietly without a spring
from the block into the saddle. If the colt has been properly
tamed and you manage judiciously he will not need to be held
while you mount, but will stand perfectly still. As soon as he
is accustomed to your position and to the weight upon his back
let him move about slowly in the inclosure and dismount and
mount repeatedly. After two hours of this discipline you may
ride him where you please, permitting him at first to go very
quietly and slowly and not prolonging the lesson so as to weary
and disgust him. Do not employ whip or spur or martingales,
but simply turn him to the right or to the left if he be disin-
clined to go forward, or if he attempt to jump or rear and
plunge to throw you off. Ride him at first uj)on the walk
only, and teach him the pace to perfection rctjuiring him to walk
rapidly and truely without ambling or pacing. Tlien teach him
to trot, and when he does this well you can easily make him

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 229

canter. In tli'is latter pace you can compel him to lead with
the right or left foot by riding him in a circle first one way and
then the other, and afterwards by pulling on one rein and
urging forward the opposite side with the whip, spur or leg.

Colts which are expected to show great trotting speed should
never be allowed to canter or gallop, but ordinary driving
horses are in no way injured by being accustomed to canter
under the saddle.

A colt may be broken to the harness at two, three, or four
years of age, but should never be subjected to hard service
before he is six years old. First, put on the harness in the
yard and when he has no fear of it, hitch him beside a steady
horse and lead him with the harness on. Then harness him to
a wagon or sleigh with another perfectly well-broken horse and
drive them slowly on the road. In this position he may be
taught the meaning of horse-talk, the bit, and the whip, and
then he may be driven alone without the least difficulty.
Remember always to be patient and gentle and also that the
colt knows nothing about what is expected of him.

If it be not convenient to employ another horse, permit the
colt to examine the wagon, sulky, fore-wheels, or sleigh, until
he has no fear of it, and then he may be harnessed alone and
driven slowly without danger.

In breaking a colt to harness, it is better to use a bridle
without blinders or blinkers, that he may understand what is
done. There are two reasons assigned for the use of blinders —
one is that a horse with a large head looks better with them,
and the other that a horse is less likely to become lazy if he
cannot see when the whip is about to be applied. A spirited,
well-formed horse, looks better and behaves better without blind-
ers than with them.

The colt having been made familiar with the harness should
be taught to go in a covered buggy or chaise, and then trained
to walk properly and rapidly, and to trot in good style, and
should never be suffered to assume any other pace. If he has
not already learned it he should now be taught to back and also
to draw.

Spirited Thoroughbred horses, if badly treated, are apt to
acquire the very dangerous habit of backing down a hill instead
of going up it whenever they take the notion, or of balking or

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230 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

jibbing, or refusing to proceed either with or without reason.
This is one of the most vexatious vices to whicli horses are
liable, and should be prevented if possible by proper treatment
in the beginning of the harness-education. If, however, a
horse become addicted to the habit it is very diflicult to make
him forget it and go always when told to do so, and it is not
possible to force or persuade a high-bred horse to pull upon a
heavy load more than once or twice unless it starts. A draught
horse, however, from his more patient disposition, and from his
inherited fitness for the work, will frequently exert all his
strength at a dead pull as often as he is commanded to do so.

The best method of treatment for a balky horse is to caress
him, and after removing all other persons to a distance attempt
to move him to the right and left, and then forwards. If he
will not proceed hold up the nigh fore-leg, and then bidding
him go, suddenly drop the foot, and he will usually move along.
Mr. Rarey says he has never failed by such means in making a
balky horse go within fifteen and often in three minutes.

If there are two horses in a team, only one is generally balky,
and after they have become quiet from kind words and caress-
ing, take the balky horse by the head, standing before him to
prevent him from starting too suddenly, and turn the team first
one way and then the other, and when they move willingly and
are fairly in their collars, let them go forward. Whipping very
rarely does any good with balky horses, serving only to enrage
and confuse them. Nothing is more trying to one's patience
than a balky horse, and very cruel means are often resorted to
for the purpose of compelling a start. Thus one recommends
sticking a pin through the knob of the cartilage in the bottom
of the ear. Another says put a bundle of straw under him and
set fire to it, or hitch a chain about his neck and drag him by
means of an ox team.

Probably, however, every horse may be most thoroughly
cured of the vice by means of a patent machine, invented by
Dr. Bunting of England, and which is also adapted for subduing
horses that attempt to throw their riders by rearing, kicking,
back-jumping, or lying down, or that kick, or run away or bolt,
or are otherwise unmanageable or dangerous in harness.

This break consists of a common capstan head, into which
are inserted two poles, twenty feet in length, in such a manner

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 231

that the diverging ends are about twelve feet apart, and upon
the outside end of each pole as upon an axle, is a cart wheel
which supports it. A pair of stiff, smooth bars of the requisite
length are placed about tiiree feet apart upon the long poles
passing from one to the other as near the wheels as possible.
The outside bar should be made movable so as to admit tlie
horse, and then securely fastened by bolts or straps. The horse
should be harnessed as in a pair of shafts, but stout straps must
be so employed as to render it impossible for him either to rear
or kick, or throw himself down. For this purpose one may
pass around his body at the girting place, being attached im-
movably to the bars, another over his loins or hips, and another
under his belly. The horse is now entirely unable to do any
damage, and after a few struggles, if vicious enough to attempt
resistance, may be driven about the capstan as long as may be
necessary to subdue or quiet him. A rider also may mount
him and render him submissive and gentle under the saddle.
If he persists in being alarmed at any sight or sound, he may
now be familiarized with it, and the driver seated upon the pole
behind him with a good whip, and if need be a curb bit, as per-
suaders, will have little trouble in securing implicit obedience
to all his reasonable commands. Of course, the same princi-
ples of education must be employed here as elsewhere, and the
horse-breaker must not abuse his power by acting the bully
over his helpless pupil, but should treat him with the greatest
kindness, patting, coaxing, and feeding him, while at the same
time convincing him that resistance is unavailing, and wilful
disobedience sure to be followed by deserved punishment.

The method adopted, with such marvelous success by Mr.
Rarey for the complete subjugation of wild colts or vicious
horses and zebras is very simple and easily understood. To
practice it in perfection requires a special talent for the business,
although almost any person may manage an ordinary horse.
Beginners should commence their first experiments upon well
broken horses, and gradually advance to the more difficult cases.
The whole secret of the art consists in rendering the horse per-
fectly helpless, and making him believe opposition to your
wishes is quite useless. This is accomplished by strapping up
the nigh fore-leg as in the directions already given for teacliing
a colt to lie down, and then laying the horse down once, twice,

232

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

or twenty times, according to the necessities of the case, until
he becomes submissive and tractable. AVhenever during his
education he shows a disposition to fight or resist, tiirow him
down, and by repeatedly raising his head to his shoulder and
laying it back upon the ground, remove all his sti(T-neckedness.

If he be particularly sensitive in any part of his l)ody liandle
that [)art until he is quiet. Thus if inclined to kick handle his
legs and move them about until perfectly supple and peaceable,
and rub him on the flanks and inside of the legs, always lightly
and Avilh the hair until no nervousness remains. If he be
frightened when he gets his tail over the rein, handle his tail,
putting a strap under it and drawhig it back and forth till he
is accustomed to it.

If inclined to bite, open and shut his jaws snapping his teeth
together until his inclination to use them improperly is gone ;
or use a gag-bit an inch and a half in diameter and made of
hard wood, and he will learn that it is impossible to bite.

The com])lcte apparatus used by Mr. Rarey in taming the
most vicious horse is represented in the accompanying cut of
the zebra, which was subdued by him while in London. Upon

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 233

hira is a bridle with the gag-bit, and around his body a surcingle
with a stout ring under the belly through which to pass and
fasten the straps or hobbles upon the feet. The nigh fore-foot
is strapped as usual at the commencement of the operation of
taming. Upon the off fore-foot is a strap by which this foot is
to be pulled up and either firmly held in the hand after passing
under the surcingle, or through the ring ; or the strap may be
drawn through a spring-buckle attached to the surcingle so that
when once drawn up it will not slip back. The hobbles on the
hind feet are not generally necessary, but very violent brutes
will kick even after they are down, and such must have all their
feet drawn up to the surcingle and tied there until they
surrender.

After a wild colt or horse has been thus exhausted and
subjugated, a saddle or harness may be brought and laid upon
his body, and then he may be allowed to get up and will permit
them to be put on without alarm. The operator should sit, and
lie down, and stand upon various parts of the prostrate and
conquered animal, and after he rises may mount him with
perfect safety.

The process of taming or subduing a horse may be under-
taken in a smooth, open field, but can be performed most ex-
peditiously and satisfactorily in an inclosure about thirty feet
square, altliough a smaller space will answer.

All other persons and horses, and every thing that could
distract the attention of the subject, should be removed from
sight or hearing. The floor or ground should be covered with
sawdust, or tan-bark, or straw, so as to prevent injury to the
horse's knees, and it is safer always to use upon valuable,
spirited horses, knee-pads.

As soon as the horse finds that his fore-legs are confined he
will begin to struggle more or less violently to free himself.
There is little danger either to the horse or man provided the
operator be calm and stand just back of the subject, guiding
him and restraining him with the reins. His resistance will
also be less vigorous if he be compelled to hop about upon three
legs until evidently fatigued, before the attempt be made to
force him to lie down. Some horses will rise upon tlicir hind
legs but once or twice, while others will rear and plunge in a
manner quite alarming to those who do not understand how

234 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

unavailing such efforts are, and how certainly they will cease
before the expiration of firteen minutes. Most horses will suc-
cumb in eight minutes, and nearly all in ten, and, after the first
grand struggle, they rarely resist the second time, but when
brouglit upon their icnees soon lie down quietly. After he has
become Aveary and begins to show an inclination to assume a
more comfortable position he should be encouraged to do so by
patting and gentle words, and by pulling his nose around
towards liis off shoulder and crowding somewhat against his
withers. Endeavor to provide a suitable place for him to lie,
and when he comes down treat liim very kindly. As soon as
he will permit you to raise and lower his head without oppo-
sition, and ceases grunting and struggling, remove the straps
from his legs and straighten them out. Then wall^ around him,
talk to him, handle him, and wlien he is sufficiently docile, let
him get up, and, if necessary, kindly assist him.

This is the whole process, by a constant repetition of which
every horse can be rendered pleasant, willing and manageable
in the hands of a good horseman. It must be remembered,
however, that it will not always be profitable to spend the
requisite amount of time and labor upon every horse to make
him safe and useful in every place. On the contrary, ordinary
horses with confirmed troublesome tricks or vices should, if
possible, be put into some one of the many kinds of work where
these habits will do little harm, as upon a railroad car, a stage
coach, or in some kind of machine where they must move in a
circle or upon a revolving platform.

Finally, since to educate colts and break vicious horses suc-
cessfully, requires a sort of genius for the business, and much
experience as well as suitable apparatus, would it not be a useful
and honorable occupation in which a few young men of good
character might engage with great advantage to themselves and
to the community ? Every year a vast amount of property in
the form of horses and vehicles is destroyed, much unnecessary
alarm endured, many limbs broken, and not a few lives lost in
consequence of the fact that our horses are so imperfectly edu-
cated, so easily frightened, and so unmanageable, because never
thoroughly subdued. There certainly is loss enough thus
annually incurred to pay a handsome salary to one horse-breaker
for every town in the State.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 235

If, with his skill as a teacher, he could combine a scientific
knowledge of the veterinary art, he would be really one of the
most valuable members of the community, and could not fail
of a competent support.

SOUNDNESS.

In reply to the inquiry, " What is a sound horse ? " it may
be said that it is a thing much easier to define than to procure.
la the interesting English work, entitled, " The Horse in
Health and Disease, by Dr. Janaes II. Winter," is the following
rliythmical statement, which is not far from the truth upon this
subject :

" When may a horse be called sound ?
When no disease upon 't be found,
When neither blind nor broken-winded,
Nor lameness — just begun or mended,
Nor any cause at time of sale,
That 'gainst his duties may prevail."

Unsoundness has reference only to disease, or to that altera-
tion of structure, from whatever cause, which impairs or is
likely to impair the natural usefulness of the horse, and has no
necessary connection with his speed, endurance, sure-footed-
ness, or style. In buying or exchanging horses the following
form of receipt should be taken as a warranty. " Received of
A. B. two hundred dollars for a bay gelding, warranted only
five years old, sound, free from vice, and safe to ride or drive."

AGE.

The age of horses is accurately indicated by the appearance
of the incisor and canine teetli, until they are more than eight
years old, after which time it can only be determined approxi-
mately by various signs, such as the angle of the incisor teeth
with the jaws, the form, length and marks of the appearance of
the lips, and of the bars iii the mouth, hollows above the eyes,
the presence of gray hairs upon the head, the general promi-
nence of the bones, and want of smoothness and plumpness,
and so forth. The ciiaracter of the teeth, as well as the other
evidences of age to be relied upon, may be best learned by the
examination of horses whose ages are known, under the direc-
tion of a person who understands the subject.

236 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

DISEASES.

Information respecting the diseases of horses and their
remedies may be obtained from some one of the numerous
works upon veterinary science, none of which perhaps is better
adapted for general use than that standard English treatise,
" The Horse, by William Youatt." A revised and enlarged
edition, by E. N. Gabriel, was published in London in 1&59,
which, besides a chapter upon " Draught," contains a very
complete account, Avith many illustrations, of the appearance of
the teeth at dilTerent ages.

STATISTICS.

The number of horses in the Commonwealth in 1850 was
seventy-four thousand and sixty, and in 1860, ninety thousand
seven hundred and twelve, showing an increase of more than
twenty-two per cent. ; while the number of working oxen
diminished in the same time more than twenty-seven per cent.
It is to be regretted that the census statistics do not inform us
how many colts were foaled in the State in any one year, or
what proportion of our horses were imported from Canada,
Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and other States. It is
certain, however, that the majority of our horses are bred out
of Massachusetts, and that a vast amount of money is annually
carried abroad, for the purchase of horses, much of which
ought to be retained at liome l)y our farmers as the reward of
their industry. By proper attention to the raising of horses,
both the farmers, and all others, who employ them for business
or pleasure, might be furnished with much more valuable
animals at a more reasonable price.

In conclusion, your Committee are impressed with the belief
that the subjects discussed in this report, relating to tlie im-
provement of our breeds of horses, and the proper methods of
feeding, shoeing, grooming, and educating them so as to render
them as pleasant, intelligent, beautiful, useful and durable as
possible, are well worthy of consideration, and only regret their
inability to perform in a more satisfactory manner the important
task assifj;ned them.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 237

THE ASS.

The ass, or donkey, is a remarkable animal, very rarely seen
in New England. In most countries of the old world, particu-
larly around the Mediterranean, these creatures are very nu-
merous and occupy a position in society for which they were
evidently designed from the beginning. The Chinese have a
proverb, which says, " a woman's heart bears breaking a great
many times." "Whether this be true or not, it is certain that
donkeys arc killed every day, and yet nobody ever saw a dead
donkey. They were created for the special use of poor, brutal,
half-civilized men, and therefore their nerves of sensation were
left in an undeveloped state. Consequently they seem to enjoy
abuse, whipping producing only an agreeable titillation upon
their dry, hard skins, which are fit only for drum heads and
parchment, and upon which no vermin of any kind can possi-
bly subsist. Like the West-Indian negroes, who eat greedily
cayenne pepper, and drink molasses and undiluted rum, asses
prefer food which has a strong and pungent taste, and will
select thorns, thistles, and the coarsest and bitterest herbage in
preference to soft, sweet grass. This insensibility of their
nerves renders necessary also their enormous ears, without
which they could not hear at all, while their voices like those
of deaf people generally are not very musical, and like them
donkeys speak very loud, being heard distinctly three miles.
Their structure is more stiff and angular than that of the horse,
so that to ride one with comfort it is customary to get well
back over the hind legs. The tail resembles that of the cow
more than that of the horse, and the hair of the body is gen-
erally coarse, long, and of a grayish or dun color, though
sometimes nearly black.

There are many breeds of asses, as of horses, and they vary
in height from seven to fifteen hands, and in weight from three
hundred to one thousand pounds.

They are usually employed for carrying burdens on pack
saddles, though sometimes harnessed to carts or wagons.

The asses of Spain are very fine and more numerous than
the horses.

Professor Low says : "Asses are now an object of economical
importance in England. Tiicy are chiefly, indeed, the property
of the poor ; but whoever owns them, they are beasts of useful

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238 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

labor, largely em])loyed by a numerous class, and meriting more
attention than they have yet received. Great numbers of she-
asses are kept about London and the larger towns for their
milk, which is a mild, salutary, and nutritious beverage."

Li Persia and Arabia very lively and good-looking asses are
bred which are highly esteemed for the saddle, and which are
but slightly removed from the wild asses found in these coun-
tries.

The male asses are called jacks, and females jennies, and the
best animals for mule breeding, which is their most important
use, are brought from the island of Malta.

The first Maltese jack imported into this country was sent by
La Fayette as a present to Washington, by whom he was highly
prized, in the 'year 1787. He was called the "Knight of
Malta," and is described as " of moderate size, great activity,
clean-limbed, having the fire and ferocity of a tiger, and of a
dark brown color, with white belly and muzzle."

Formerly many jacks were imported into Xew Haven from
the Cape Verde Islands, and distributed through Connecticut
and the other New England States. They were, however, of
inferior quality, and the mules got by them of little value.
More recently many fine jacks have been imported from Malta
and Spain, and employed chiefly in the States of New Jersey,
Ohio, and Kentucky, where the finest mules in the world are
now bred.

THE MULE.

The mule is the offspring of the jack and the mare, and like
most hybrid animals is incapable of reproduction. These most
serviceable creatures have been used for riding and carrying
burdens, and occasionally for draught, from the earliest times,
being mentioned in the book of Genesis even before horses.
They combine the size and activity of the horse with the form
and hardihood of the ass, while they surpass them both in sure-
footedness and longevity. They are less easily fatigued than
horses, and recover much more rapidly and certainly when
worn down, or injured by excessive work. They are quite as
spirited as horses, walk as fast and pull more steadily. They
are better kept at two-thirds the cost and much less liable to
disease, rarely becoming lame and never foundered nor broken-

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 239

winded. They have small, hard feet, which require but little
shoeing, and though they sink in soft land deeper tlian horses,
they extricate themselves much better, scarcely ever throwing
themselves down, and never stumbling. They carry their feet
close together and work admirably between rows of corn, car-
rots, and other crops, and are very tractable, obeying the voice
so as to render the use of reins or driver quite unnecessary.
Even upon the heavy wagons drawn by four or six mules among
the mountains of Pennsylvania, the teamsters manage them
entirely with the voice and the whip.

Mules are fit for hard work from the age of three years until
thirty or forty years old, and they have repeatedly been known
to live more than seventy years. Indeed, it is not common to
keep any account of their age, as, if in good condition, they arc
sure to last long enough. It may be safely estimated that a
good mule team will survive at the same work three times as
long as a horse team. In mountainous countries mules are
almost indispensable, being able to subsist on scanty fare, to
carry heavy loads, and to go where no other beast of burden
would venture — even sliding swiftly down steep declivities
with perfect security. They are also the only animals which
can endure the treatment of the stupid, careless plantation
negro, or labor with him under the burning sun of the sugar,
rice, and cotton regions of the South.

When well bred these animals are often good-looking and
excellent travellers. In Spain and Portugal they are preferred
to horses for the carriages of the kings and nobles. In Lisbon
a pair of fine carriage mules will command fl,500.

It has been objected to the employment of mules for farm
work that they are less handsome, and cannot therefore be used
for driving so well as horses. With the care usually bestowed
upon them, farmers' horses are certainly not remarkable for
beauty, and it may be safely affirraed that with the same treat-
ment good mules would look better than one-half the horses.

Again, they are said to be vicious. This is strenuously de-
nied by many intelligent men who have used them, and it
appears probable that this bad reputation results principally
from the fact that they are very badly treated by the ignorant
and brutal persons, who commonly have charge of them. Tiiey
have, however, a peculiar temper, and are more easily coaxed

240 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

than driven. They arc also very revengeful, and never forget
the man who aliases them, but at the same time never fail to
appreciate kind treatment.

The celebrated naturalist, Mr. Darwin, speaking of the mules
of South America, says: " In a troop each animal carries, on a
level road, a cargo weighing four hundred and sixteen pounds ;
but in a mountainous country, a hundred pounds less. Yet
with what delicate, slim limbs, without any proportionate bulk
of muscle these animals support so great a burden ! The mule
always appears to me a most surprising creature. That a
hybrid should possess more intelligence, memory, obstinacy,
social affection and power of muscular endurance than cither
of its parents, seems to indicate that art has here outmastered
nature."

Formerly great numbers of mules of very inferior quality
were bred in New England, and sliippcd principally from New
Haven for the Southern States and the West Indies. But the
low price of such poor animals, together with the competition
which sprang up in the Western States, caused the stock-growers
to turn their attention to the raising of horses, until now a
mule has come to be a rare animal.

In Kentucky and Ohio, many excellent mules are now
bred, and with very great profit. The finest jacks only are used,
and these are often crossed with splendid Thoroughbred mares.
Abundantly fed upon nutritious blue grass and corn, the young
mules grow rapidly to a great size, some of them equalling in
stature the tallest horses, being more than eighteen hands high.

In November, 1859, in Kentucky, mules six months old were
sold by the hundred for 880 a-piece ; yearlings for $120 ; and
two year olds for from $160 to $180. Hon. A, G. Talbot, of
Boyle County, Kentucky, sold in December, 1859, two hundred
yearling mules for $30,000, or $150 each. In St. Louis, the
best truck mules arc worth $500 each.

After the death of Washington, eight mules bred by him at
Mount Ycrnon, were sold for more than $200 a-piece.

In France more than one million of the one million five
hundred thousand mares in the country are kept for breeding
■mules, which clearly shows how highly they are esteemed for
farm labor.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 241

The whole number of asses and mules in this State, accord-
ing to the census of 1860, is one hundred and twenty-seven ;
but many persons are beginning to inquire into their merits,
and it may be safely affirmed that there will be ten times as
many in 1870. There is no doubt that at the present prices of
stock of all kinds good mules are the most profitable animals
to raise for sale, and they certainly are unsurpassed in ability
to perform severe and constant labor, at a moderate expense
for keeping, and small risk of sickness or injury. The testi-
mony of all who have given them a fair trial is decidedly in
favor of the economy of employing mules in preference to any
other animal for draught, either upon the farm or on the road.

It should be remarked that a mare once covered by a jack,
need never again be expected to produce a good colt, but should
be put only to raising mules.

There are some very curious and wise provisions in nature
respecting the influence of the male animal, not only upon the
immediate offsprijig, but also upon the female herself, and
all her future progeny. It seems to be a well established
fact, that the male animal which first impregnates a female,
imparts something of his character, both to her and to all
her future young. Thus, a mare was once covered by a
quagga, and produced a striped mule. Afterwards she had
colts by three different stallions, but every one was striped,
and resembled in other respects the quagga ; and similar results
follow when mares are once impregnated by a jack and after-
wards by a stallion. It follows, obviously, from this principle,
that mares which have been served by inferior stallions, are
much less valuable for breeding purposes than they would have
been if they had been covered only by males of the best quality.
The same rule, of course, applies to other animals.

It has been suggested in explanation of this singular phe-
nomenon, that the effect upon the female may be caused in
part by the fact, that her blood circulates through the fetus,
and thus acquires something of its peculiar nature, derived
from its sire.

It appears also that the fancy, or imagination, of the female
produces a marked effect upon her offspring. Hence the judi-
cious custom of causing the male animal to remain for a con-
siderable time in the sight of the female at the period of copu-

242 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

lation ; and it has boeu distinctly proved, that when this course
is adopted, the young are veiy sure to resemble their sire in
form and color.

Again, it is certain that the male animal has more violent
passions, and exerts a much greater influence \ipon the young
than the female ; and this is a moi^t important law, because the
male, especially of domestic animals, affects annually the
quality of from fifty to one hundred times more individuals of
a species than the female.

Among hybrid animals, it is observed that males are two or
three times more numerous than females, and they partake
more of the character of their sires than of their dams. Thus
in the common mule, we see that the general characteristics, as
the ears, voice, head, tail, feet and temper are asinine ; while
in the hinny, or progeny of the stallion and female ass, we find
the same qualities of the horse to predominate. The size alone
seems to depend more upon the female than the male, which
results from the fact, that the young animal being produced
within and nourished by the dam, must of necessity be propor-
tioned to her capacity.

It may also be mentioned here, that among wild animals the
males fight desperately for the privilege of propagating their
species, and this weighty responsibility devolves, at last, exclu-
sively upon the few most vigorous and powerful of the race,
which is thus preserved in its original perfection.

Finally, there is another princi[)lc which the breeder should
never forget, namely: that among domesticated animals, those
Avhich have been bred in the same manner, and for the same
objects, during many successive generations are much more
sure to impress their likeness upon their progeny than any
others. Hence, when Thoroughbred males of the desired
varieties can possibly be procured, they should invariably be
employed, in preference even to grade animals, which may be
in appearance much their superiors.

Respectfully submitted.

W. S. Clark.
George M. Atwater.
George Marston.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 243

The subject of the flowage of low lands having been intro-
duced, it was referred to a committee of three, consisting of
Messrs. Davis, Grennell and Sewall, who, having fully consid-
ered it, submitted the following

REPORT:

Your Committee respectfully report, that they have entered
upon the consideration of the subject submitted to them with
a sincere desire to do full justice to the rights of the manu-
facturing and agricultural interests of the Commonwealth.
There is no doubt that much valuable land is flowed in this
Commonwealth by dams erected for manufacturing purposes.
The original object of the laws now known as the Mill Acts,
"was to encourage grist and saw mills in a new country, where
land was of little value, and it was of paramount importance
to the agriculturist himself that the woods should be cleared,
lumber sawed, and his grain and corn ground at a neighboring
mill. The erection of mills has been encouraged from the
earliest times in England, in order that the inhabitants of
different sections might have free access to some mill for
grinding their corn. For this purpose lords of manors erected
mills on their domains for the public advantage, on the con-
dition that the inhabitants within their respective seignories
should grind their corn at the respective mills so erected, and
the commerce thus initiated was called " doing grist " to the
mill.

The old statutes of Massachusetts speak of mills as greatly
beneficial to the subject, and the preamble of the provincial
statute of the twelfth year of Queen Anne, chap. 1, recites
that mills sometimes fall into despair, and are rendered useless
and unserviceable, if not totally demolished, io the hurt and
detriment of the public, as well as the loss to the partners who
are ready to rebuild. The eighth chapter speaks of " mills
serviceable to the public good and the benefit of the town."
These statutes took away the right which the land owner before
possessed of removing from his land a nuisance, and another
provincial statute of George II., gave treble damages for the tres-
pass of taking up or injuring any dam used for a mill. In
1795 the provincial Acts were revised, and it was provided that

244 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

the mill-owner may flow anjj lands not belonging to liim, neces-
sary to raise a suitable head of water for his mill, upon payment
of damages assessed by a jury. Under this statute it is im-
portant however to note that the jury were to determine' how
far the circumstances of each particular case justified such
flowing. This statute was followed by others in 1824 and 1825,
and the Act of the Revised Statutes. The statutes of Maine,
Rhode Island, and North Carolina, arc generally similar in
principle to those of Massachusetts.

It is asserted or implied in the resolutions submitted to your
Committee that these statutes abuse the right of eminent
domain, infringe the spirit of the constitution, and are not
within the power delegated by the people to the legislature.
But these statutes have too long been the subject of judicial
decision to permit us to dispute for a moment their constitu-
tionality. While we must admit the undoubted constitutionality
of these laws, the propriety and necessity of their continuance
under change of circumstances are legitimate subjects of inquiry.
In the case of Stowell v. Flagg, 11 Mass. Reports, CG4, Chief
Justice Parker when speaking of the statutory laws of our
State subsequent to the Revolution, which re-enacted, in sub-
stance, the provincial Acts to wliich we have referred, said :
" We cannot help thinking that this statute was incautiously
copied from the ancient colonial and provincial Acts which
were passed when the use of mills, from the necessity of them,
bore a much greater value compared to the land iised for the
purposes of agriculture than at present." Whether the learned
Chief Justice was right in his impression at that period or not,
your Committee cannot fail to observe that under these mill
Acts, originally intended to encourage saw and grist-mills only,
a large and important manufacturing interest has grown up in
Massachusetts, furnishing employment to the people, encour-
agement to commerce, and a market to the farmer. With
rights already accjuired we cannot if we would, legally interfere.
But your Conunittce are informed that in many portions of the
Commonwealth saw-mills or small manufacturing establish-
ments furnishing little or no employment to the people, running
at irregular intervals, and, undoubtedly, manufacturing so
small an amount that the net product is often much less than the
possible net product of the hundreds of acres of land which

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 245

they flow or destroy. But in these cases the right of flowage is
generally acquired by prescription or absolute grant, and the
question presented is an economical question presented to the
judgment of the mill-owner himself.

Since the enactment of the mill Acts, however, and since
the establishment of the large manufactories of this Common-
wealth, the use of steam as a motive power has been discovered
and has, at last, become a cheap and constant source of power,
enabling the manufacturer to establish his mill where great
exix?nse of carriage for the raw material may be saved, and
shipment of the manufactured article readily effected. And
the question properly recurs whether, under existing circum-
stances, a jK)wer so stringent as is now given by the mill Acts
should be granted by the legislature. The real question is
whether authorizing the flowing of another's land, without his
consent, is in all cases sufficiently for the public good to justify
depriving the owner of the use of it, even for a just compensa-
tion. It is not pretended that the legislature can take the
property of one individual, and, without his consent, give it to
another, even for a fair compensation, except upon the highest
and surest grounds of public benefit or necessity.

It cannot be denied that the legislature as well as courts of
law, seem hitherto to have been disposed rather to enlarge than
to curtail the statutory privileges of mill-owners. So broad a
construction has been given to the statutes of Massachusetts,
that the power of creating reservoirs, remote from, but auxiliary
to the pond and dam below, has been vindicated ; and in the
case of the "Woolcut Manufacturing Company v. Upham, 5
Pick. 292, the reservoir for the use of the mill was more than
three miles above the poJid at which the mill was erected, — and
the court have even decided that if the owner of a mill erects
a dam at the outlet of a natural pond, which flows into a stream
upon which his mill is situated, for the purpose of creating a
reservoir for his mill, he has a right to flow the land of another
all about the pond.

It is difficult to perceive how it can be honestly alleged that

in every case of flowage by one who is about to erect a mill,

however small, with a product however insignificant, running,

perhaps, at irregular intervals, and flowing or inundating lai-ge

3.»

246 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

sections of the country, public benefit demands the application
of the right of eminent domain. It is not true that in all
cases the public is benefited, and although in an earlier stage
of the settlement of the country, and before the application ot
steam, the balance of benefit to the public may have been in
favor of mills, it cannot be asserted that the legislature have
any right to apply the unlimited and s\yeeping power of condo-
nation allowed by the mill act one step further or one moment
longer than the legislature, in the exercise of a wise and
constitutional discretion, is satisfied that the public benefit or
necessity requires it.

The supreme court of the State of New York have boasted
in the following v/ords, that " The legislature of this State, it is
believed, hare never exercised the right of eminent domain in
favor of mills of any kind. Sites for steam-engines, hotels,
churches, and other public conveniences might as well be taken^
by the exercise of this extraordinary power." The Acts of
Tennessee extend only to the condemnation of land for grist
mills.

The question which presents itself, as it appears to your com-
mittee, is simply, under existing circumstances, what provision
can be enacted by the legislature which shall secure existing
rights of the mill-owner, and shall hereafter do full justice to
the interests and demands both of the agricultural and tlie
manufacturing interests of the Commonwealth. By the laws
of Virginia and Kentucky, which have been substantially
adopted in the States of Indiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ala-
bama and Florida, and we believe in some other States, it is pro-
Tided in substance that when a person desires to erect a mill or
other engine of public utility, he shall apply to some court of
record, who shall issue a writ to a jury ai)pointed for the pur-
pose who have authority to condemn for the mill owner an
acre of land on the bank of the other side of the stream, if he
do not own on both sides, to appraise the value of the same, to
examine what other lands may be overflowed, and assess dam-
age, regulate the height of dam and mode of flowagc, and to
decide whether tlie public benefit will be enhanced by the
estai)lishmcnt of the mill, or whether tlic injury likely to result
to the neighborliood by sickness or otherwise, will be greater
than the benefit to be derived from the erection of a dam ; and

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 247

the party applying for the same shall pay the value of the land
taken, and the damage assessed, to the person entitled.

Tliese statutes we think are enacted upon the right principle,
as they do not involve the assertion by the legislature of the
broad fact that every mill is a greater public benefit than the
value of the land destroyed.

So far is such an assertion from the absolute fact, that in
England, for tlie purposes of drainage, power has been granted
to remove mill dams and other obstructions to agriculture for
the benefit of agriculture, and the government has itself loaned
vast funds to aid in improvements in drainage. Since our
mill Acts were enacted, not only has steam become the grand
motive-power of the world's machinery, but the whole art of
drainage has come into existence, doubling the products of the
farmer, and demonstrating the necessity of perfect drainage,
the removal of standing water several feet from the surface,
and the admission of air to the cultivated soil.

Inasmuch as a full drawn statute embracing the views of
your committee is not strictly within the province of this Board,
and requires the careful attention of the appropriate committee
of the legislature, your committee content themselves with re-
porting that the Board of Agriculture recommend to the legis-
lature to make such amendments to the mill Acts as shall here-
after protect the land-owner in the improvement and entire
control of his land, in all cases where the erection of a dam is
not shown to be of public utility or necessity.

Your committee also take pleasure in quoting in full the able
and instructive chapter on Flowage and Drainage Acts from
Judge French's work on Farm Drainage. The chapter is as
follows : —

Nothing more clearly shows the universal interest and confidence of
the people of Great Britain, in the operation of land-drainage, than the
acts of Parliament in relation to the subject. The conservatism of
England, in the view of an American, is striking. She never takes a
step till she is sure she is right. Justly proud of her position among the
nations, she deems change an unsafe experiment, and what has been,
much safer than what might be. Vested rights are sacred in England,
and especially rights in lands, which are emphatically real estate there.

Such are the sentiments of the people, and such the sentiments of
their representatives and exponents, the Lords and Commons.

248 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Yet England ha.« been =o impressed with the importance of improving
the condition of the people, of increasing the wealth of the nation, of
enricliing both tenant and landloid, by draining the land, that the history
of her legislation, in aid of such operations, affords a lesson of progress
even to fast Young America. Powers have been granted, by which
encumbered estates may be charged with the expenses of drainage, so
that remainder-men and reversioners, without their consent, shall be
compelled to contribute to present improvements ; so that careless or
obstinate adjacent proprietors shall be compelled to keep open their
ditches for outfalls to their neighbors' drains; so that mill-dams, and
other obstructions to the natural flow of the water, may be removed for the
benefit of agriculture ; and, finally, the government has itself furnished
funds, by way of loans, of millions of pounds, in aid of improvements of
this character.

In America, whore private indi\idual right is usually compelled to
yield to the good of the whole, and where selfishness and obstinacy do
not long stand in the ])athway of progress, obstructing manifest improve-
ment in the condition of the people, we are yet far behind England in
legal facilities for jjromoting the improvement of land culture. This is
because the attention of the public has not been particularly called to
the subject.

Manufacturing corporations are created by special acts of legislation*
In many States, rights to flow, and ruin, by inundation, most valuable
lands along the course of rivers, and by the banks of ponds and lakes,
to aid the water-power of mills, are granted to companies, and the land-
owner is compelled to part with his meadows for such compensation as
a committee or jury shall assess.

In almost every town in New England there are hundreds, and often
thousands of acres of lands, that might be most productive to the
farmer, overflowed half the year with water, to drive some old saw-
mill, or grist-mill, or cotton-mill, Avhich has not made a dividend, or paid
expenses, for a quarter of a century. The whole water-power, which,
perhaps, ruins for cultivation a thousand acres of fertile land, and
divides and breaks up farms, by creating little creeks and swamps
throughout all the neighboring valleys, is not worth, and would not be
assessed, by impartial men, at one thousand dollars. Yet, though there
is power to take the farmer's land for the benefit of manufacturers,
there is no power to take down the comjiany's dam for the benefit of
agriculture. An old saw-mill, which can only run a few days in a
Spring freshet, often swamps a half-township of land, because some-
body's great-grandfather had a prescriptive right to flow, when lauds
were of no value, and saw-mills were a public blessing.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 249

Tlierc arc numerous cases, within our own knowlcdgflU where the very
land overflowed and ruined by some incorpoi'ated company, would, if
allowed to produce its natural growth of timber and wood, furnish ten
times the fuel necessary to supply steam-engines, to propel the machin-
ery carried by the water-power.

Not satisfied with obstructing the streams in their course, the larger
companies are, of late, making use of the interior lakes, fifty or a hun-
dred miles inland, as reservoirs, to keep back water for the use of the
mills in the summer droughts. Thus are thousands of acres of land
drowned, and rendered worse than useless ; for the water is kept up till
midsummer, and draM'n off when a dog-day climate is just ready to
convert the rich and slimy sediment of the pond into pestilential vapors.
These waters, too, controlled by the mill-owners, are thus let down in
floods, in midsummer, to overflow the meadows and corn-fields of the
farmer, or the intervals and bottom-lands below.

Kow, w'hile we would never advocate any attack upon the rights of
mill-owners, or ask them to sacrifice their interests to those of agricul-
ture, it surely is proper to call attention to the injury which the produc-
tive capacity of the soil is suffering by the flooding of our best tracts, in
sections of country where land is most valuable? Could not mill-
owners, in many instances, adopt steam instead of water-power, and
becoming land-dratmnff companies, instead of \and-drowfiing companies ;
at least, let nature have free course with her gently-flowing rivers, and
allow the promise to be fulfilled, that the earth shall be no more cursed
with a flood.

We would ask for the land-owner, simply equality of rights with the
mill-owner. If a legislature may grant the right to flow lands, against
the will of the owner, to promote manufactures, the same legislature
may surely grant the right, upon proper occasion, to remove dams and
other obstructions to our streams, to promote agriculture. The rights
of mill-owners are no more sacred than those of land-owners ; and the
interests of manufactures are, surely, no more important than those
of agriculture.

"VVe would not advocate much interference with private rights. In
some of the States, no special privileges have been conferred upon
water-power companies. They have been left to procure their rights of
flowage, by private contract with the land-owners ; and in such States,
probably, the legislatures would be as slow to interfere with rights
of flowage, as with other rights. Yet, there are cases where, for the
preservation of the health of the community, and for the general conve-
nience, governments have everywhere exercised the power of interfering
with private property, and limiting the control of the owners. To
preserve the public health, we abate as nuisances, by processes of law,

250 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

slaughter-houses, and other establishments offensive to health and com-
fort, and we provide, hy compulsory assessments upon land-owners, for
sewerage, for sidewalks, and the like, in our cities.

E\erywhere, for the public good, we take private property for high-
ways, upon just compensation, and the property of corporations is thus
taken, like that of individuals.

Again, we compel adjacent owners to fence their lands, and maintain
their proportion of division fences of the legal height, and we elect fence-
viewers, with power to adjust equitably, the expenses of such fences.
We assess bachelors and maidens, in most States, for the construction
of school-houses, and the education of the children of others, and, in
various ways, compel each member of society to contribute to the com-
mon Avelfare.

How far it may be competent, for a State legislature to provide for,
or assist in, the drainage of extensive and unhealtliy marshes ; or how
far individual owners should be compelled to contribute to a common
improvement of their lands ; or how far, and in what cases, one land-
owner should be authorized to enter upon the land of another, to secure
or maintain the best use of his own land — these are questions which it
is unnecessary for us to attempt to determine. It is well that they
should be suggested, because they will, at no distant day, engage much
attention. It is well, too, that the steps which conservative England has
thought it proper to take in this direction, should be understood, that we
may the better determine whether any, and if any, what course our
States may safely take, to aid the great and leading interest of our
country.

The swamps and stagnant meadows along our small streams and our
rivers, which arc taken from the farmer, by flowage, for the benefit of
mills, are often, in New England, the most fertile part of the townships
— equal to the bottom lands of the West ; and they are right by the
doors of young men, who leave their homes with regret because the
rich land of far-off new States offers temptations, which their native soil
cannot present.

It is certainly of great importance to the old States, to inquire into
these matters, and to set proper bounds to the use of streams for water-
powers. The associated Avealth and influence of manufacturers, is
always more powerful than the individual efforts of the land-owners.

Reservoirs are always growing larger, and dams continually grow
higher and tighter. The water, by little and little, creeps insidiously on
to, and into, the meadows far above the obstruction, and the land-owner
must often elect between submission to this aggression, and a tedious
law-suit with a powerful adversary. The evil of obstructions to streams
and rivers, is by no means limited to the land visibly flowed, nor to laud

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 251

at the level of the clam. Kunning water i.s never level, or it could not
flow ; and in crooked streams which How through meadows, obstructed
by grass and bushes, the water raised by a dam, often stands many feet
higher, at a mile or two buck, than at tlie dam. It is extremely difficult
to set limits to the effect of such a flowage. Water is flowed into the
subsoil, or rather is prevented from running out ; the natural drainage
of the country is prevented ; and land which might well be drained
artificially, were the stream not obstructed, is found to lie so near the
level, as to be deprived of the requisite fall by back water, or the
sluggish current occasioned by the dam.

These obstructions to drainage have become subjects of much atten-
tion, and of legislative intervention in various forms in England, and
some of the facts elicited in their investigations are very instructive.

In a discussion before the Society of Arts, in 1855, in which many
gentlemen, experienced in drainage, took a part, this subject of obstruc-
tion by mill-dams came up.

Mr. G. Donaldson said he had been much engaged in works of land-
drainage, and that, in many instances, great difficulties wei-e experi-
enced in obtaining outfalls, owing to the water-rights, on the course of
rivers for mill-power, &c.

Mr. R. Grantham spoke of the necessity of further legislation, " so as
to give power to lower bridges and culverts, under public roads, and
straighten and deepen rivers and streams." But, he said, authority was
wanting, above all, " for the removal of mills, dams, and other obstruc-
tions in rivers, which, in many cases, did incalculable injury, many
times exceeding the value of the mills, by keeping up the level of
rivers, and rendering it totally impossible to drain the adjoining lands."

Mr. R. F. Davis said, " If they were to go into the midland districts,
they would see great injury done, from damming the water for mills."

In Scotland, the same difficulty has arisen. " In many parts of this
country," says a Scottish writer, " small lochs (lakes) and dams are kept
up, for the sake of mills, under old tenures, which, if drained, the land
gained by that operation, would, in many instances, be worth ten times
the rent of such mills."

In the case of the Rye and Derwent Drainage, an account of which
is found in the 14th volume of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural
Society, a plan of compensation was adopted, where it became necessary
to remove dams and other obstructions, which is worthy of attention.
The commissioners under the Act of 1840, removed the mill-wheels,
and substituted steam-engines corresponding to the power actually used
by the mills, compensating, afco, the proprietors "for inconvenience, and
the future additional expensiveness of the new power.

252 BOARD OF AORICULTURE.

" The claims of a short canal navigation, two fisheries, and tenants*
damages through derangement of business during the alterations, were
disposed of without much outlay ; and the pecuniary advantages of the
■work are apparent from the fact, that a single flood, such as frequently
overflowed the land, has been known to do more damage, if fairly
valued in money, than the whole sum expended under the Act."

Under this Act, it became necessary for the commissioners to estimate
the comparative cost of steam and water-power, in order to carry out
their idea of giving to the mill-owners a steam-power equivalent to their
water-power.

" As the greater part of their wafer-power was employed on corn and
flour-mills, upon these the calcuhitions were chiefly based. It was gen-
erally admitted to be very near the truth, that to turn a pair of flour-mill
stones projierly, requires a power equal to that of two-and-a-half horses,
or on an average, twenty horses' power, to turn and Avork a mill of
eight-pairs of stones, and that the total cost of a twenty-horse steam-
engine, with all its appliances, would be $5,000, or $250 per horse
])Ower."

Calculations for the maintenance of the steam-power are also given ;
but this depends so much on local circumstances, that English estimates
would be of little value to us.

The arrangements in this case with the mill-owners, were made by
contract, and not by the force of any arbitrary power, and the success of
the enterprise, in the drainage of the lands, the prevention of damage by
floods, especially in hay and harvest-lime, and in the improvement of
the health of vegetation, as well as of man and animals, is said to be
strikingly manifest.

This Act provides for a " water-bailiflT," whose duty it is to inspect the
rivers, streams, water-courses, &c., and enforce the due maintenance of
the banks, and the uninterrupted discharge of the waters at all times.

COMPULSORY OUTFALLS.

It often happens, especially in New England^ Avhere farms are small,
and the country is broken, that an owner of valuable lands, overcharged
Avith water, perhaps a swamp or low meadow, or perhaps a field of
upland, lying nearly level, desires to drain his tract, but cannot find sutfi-
cient fall, without going upon the land of owners below. These adjacent
owners may not appreciate the advantages of drainage ; or their lands
may not require it ; or, what is not unusual, they may from various
motives, good and evil, refuse to allow their lands to be meddled with.

Now, without desiring to be understood as speaking judicially, we
know of no authority of law by which a land-owner may enter upon the
territory of his neighbor for the purpose of draining his own land, and

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 253

perhaps no such power should ever be conferred. All owners upon
streams, great and small, have, however, the right to the natural flow of
the water, both above and below. Their neighbors below cannot obstruct
a stream so as to How back the Avater upon, or into, the land above ; and
where artificial water-courses, as ditches and drains have long been
opened, the presumption would be that all persons benefited by them,
have the right to have them kept open.

Parliament is held to be omnipotent, and in the Act of 1847, known
as Lord Lincoln's Act, its power is well illustrated, as is also the deter-
mination of the British nation that no trifling impediments shall hinder
the progress of the great work of draining lands for agriculture. The
Act, in effect, authoi-izes any person interested in draining his lands, to
clear a passage through all obstructions, wherever it would be worth the
expense of works and compensation.

Its general provisions may be found in the 15th volume of the Journal
of the Royal Agricultural Society.

It is not the province of the author, to decide what may properly be
done within the authority of different States, in aiil of public or private
drainage enterprises. The State Legislatures are not, like Parliament,
omnipotent. They are limited by their written constitutions. Perhaps
no better criterion of powei", with respect to compelling contribution, by
persons benefited, to the cost of drainage, and with interfering with indi-
vidual rights, for public or private advantage, can be found, than the
exercise of power in the cases of fences and of flowage.

If we may lawfully compel a person to fence his land, to exclude the
cattle of other persons, or, if he neglect to fence, subject him to their
depredations, Avithout indemnity, as is done in many States ; or if we
may compel him to contribute to the erection of division fences, of a
given height, though he has no animal in the world to be shut in or
out of his field, there would seem to be equal reason, in compelling him
to dig half a division ditch for the benefit of himself and neighbor.

If, again, as we have already hinted, the legislature may authorize a
corporation to floAV and inundate the land of an unwilling citizen^ to
raise a water-power for a cotton mill, it must be a nice discrimination of
powers that prohibits the same legislature from authorizing the entry.
into lands of a protesting mill-owner, or of an unknown or cross-grained
proprietor, to open an outlet for a valuable, health-giving system of
drainage.

In the valuable treatise of Dr. Warder, of Cincinnati, recently pub-
lished in New York, upon Hedges and Evergreens, an abstract is given
of the statutes of most of our States, upon the subject of fences, and we
know of no other book, in which so good an idea of the legislation on
this subject, can be so readily obtained.
32*

254 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

By the statutes of Massachusetts, any person may erect and maintain
a water-mill, and dam to raise water for working it, upon and across any
stream that is not navigable, provided he does not interfere with existing
mills. Any person, whose land is overflowed, may, on complaint, have a
trial and a verdict of a jury ; which may fix the height of the dam, de-
cide whether it shall be left open any part of the year, and fix compensa-
tion, either annual or in gross, for the injury. All other remedies for
such flowage are taken away, and thus the land of the owner may be
converted into a mill-pond against his consent.

We find nothing in the Massachusetts statutes which gives to land-
owners, desirous of improving their wet lands, any power to interfere in
any way w-ith the rights of mill-owners, for the drainage of lands. The
statutes of the Commonwealth, however, make liberal and stringent pro-
visions for compelling unwilling owners to contribute to the drainage of
>wet lands.

For the convenience of those who may be desirous of procuring legis-
ilation on this subject, we will give a brief abstract of the leading statute
■of Massachusetts regulating this matter. It may be found in chapter
115 of the Revised Statutes, of 183G. The first section explains the
•general object.

^' When any meadow, swamp, marsh, beach, or other low land shall be
iheld by several proprietors, and it shall be necessary or useful to drain
or flow the same, or to remove obstructions in rivers or streams leading
therefrom, such improvements may be effected, under the direction of
commissioners, in the manner provided in this chapter."

The statute provides that the proprietors, or a greater part of them in
interest, may apply, by petition, to the court of common pleas, setting
forth the proposed improvements, and for notice to the propi'ietors who
■ do not join in the petition, and for a hearing. The court may then ap-
point three, five, or seven commissioners to cause the improvements to be
■effected. The commissioners are authorized to "cause dams or dikes to
■he erected on the premises, at such places, and in such manner as they
shall direct ; and may order the land to be flowed thereby, for such
periods of each year as they shall tliink most benclicial, and also cause
• ditches to be opened on the premises, and obstructions in any rivers or
streams leading therefrom to be removed."

Provision is made for assessment of the expenses of the improvements,
upon all the proprietors, according to the benefit each will derive from it,
and for the collection of the amount assessed.

"When the commissioners shall find it necessary or expedient to re-
duce or raise the waters, for the purpose of obtaining a view of the
premises, or for the more convenient or exjjeditious removal of obstruc-
tions therein, they may open the flood-gates of any mill, or make other

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 255

needful passages tlirough or round the dam thereof, or erect a temporary
dam on the land of any person, who is not a party to the proceedings,
and may maintain such dam, or such passages for the water, as long as
shall be necessaiy for the purposes aforesaid."

Provision is made for previous notice to persons who are not parties,
and for compensation to them for injuries occasioned by the interference
and for appeal to the courts.

This statute gives, by no means, the ]3owers necessary to compel con-
tribution to all necessary drainage, because, first, it is limited in its ap-
plication to " meadow, swamp, marsh, beach, or other low land." The
word meadow, in New England, is used in its original sense of flat and
wet land. Secondly, the statute seems to give no authoi'ity to open per-
manent ditches on the land of others than the owners of such low land,
although it provides for temporary passages for the purposes of " obtain-
ing a view of the premises, or for the more convenient or expeditious re-
moval of obstructions therein " — the word " therein " referring to the
" premises " under improvement, so that there is no provision for out-
falls, under this statute, except through natural streams.

By a statute of March 28, 1855, the legislature of Massachusetts has
exercised a power as extensive as is desii-able for all purposes of
drainage, although the provisions of the Act referred to are not, perhaps,
so broad as may be found necessary, in order to open outfalls and
remove all obstructions to drainage. As this Act is believed to be pecu-
liar', we give its substance :

" An Act to authorize the making of Roads and Drains in certain
cases.

" Sect. 1. Any town or city, person or persons, company or body
corporate, having the ownership of low lands, lakes, swamps, quarries,
mines, or mineral deposits, that, by means of adjacent lands belonging
to other persons, or occupied as a highway, cannot be approached,
worked, di'ained, or used in the ordinary manner without crossing such
lands or highway, may be authorized to establish roads, drains, ditches,
tunnels, and railways to said places in the manner herein provided.

" Sect. 2. The party desiring to make such improvements shall file
a petition therefor with the commissioners of the county in which the
premises are situated, setting forth the names of the persons interested,
if known to the petitioner, and also, in detail, the nature of the proposed
improvement, and the situation of the adjoining lands."

Section 3 provides for notice to owners and town authorities.

Section 4 provides for a hearing, and laying out the improvement, and
assessment of damages upon the respective parties, " having strict
regard to the benefits which they will receive."

256 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Section 5 provides for repairs by a majority of those benefited ; and
Section G for appeals, as in the case of highways.

By an Act of 1857, this Act was so far amended as to authorize the
application for the desired improvement, to be made to the selectmen
of the town, or the mayor and aldermen of the city, in case the lands
over which the improvement is desired are all situated in one town or
city.

It is manifest certainly, that the State assumes power sufficient to au-
thorize any interference with private property that may be necessary for
the most extended and thorough drainage operations. The power which
may compel a man to improve his portion of a swamp, may ap])ly as well
to his wet hill-sides ; and the power which may open temporai-y passages
through lands or dams, without consent of the owner, may keep them
open jiermanently, if expedient.

LAND DRAINAGE COMPANIES.

Besides the charters which have at various times, for many centuries,
been granted to companies, for the drainage of fens and marshes, and
other low lands, in modern times, great encouragement has been given by
the British government for the drainage and other improvement of
high lands. Not only have extensive powers been granted to companies
to proceed with their own means, to effect the objects in view, but the
government itself has advanced money, by way of loan, in aid of drain-
age and like improvements.

By tlie provisions of two Acts of Parliament, no less than $20,000,000
have been loaned in aid of such improvements. These Acts are gener-
ally known as Public Moneys Drainage Acts. There are already
lour chartered companies for the same general objects, doing an immense
amount of business, on private funds.

It will be sufficient, perhaps, to state, in general terms, the mode of
operation under these several Acts.

Most lands in England are held under incumbrances of some kind.
Many are entailed, as it is termed ; that is to say, vested for life in cer-
tain persons, and then to go to others, the tenant for life having no power
.to sell the property. Often, the life estate is owned by one person, and
the remainder by a stranger, or remote branch of the family, whom the
life-tenant has no desire to benefit. In such cases the tenant, or occu-
pant, would be unwilling to make expensive improvements at his own
cost, which might benefit himself but a few years, and then go into other
hands.

On the other hand, the remainder-man Avould have no riglit to meddle
with the property while the tcnaut-for-lifc was in possession ; and it

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 257

would be rare, that all those interested could agree to unite in efforts to
increase the general value of the estate, by such improvements.

The great object in view was, then, to devise means, by which such
estates, suffering for want of systematic, -and often expensive, drainage
operations, might be improved, and the cost of improvement be charged
on the estate, so as to do no injustice to any party intere^ted.

The plan finally adopted is, to allow the tenant or occupant to have
the improvement made, either by expending his private funds, or by bor-
rowing of the government or the private companies, and having the
amount expended, made a charge on the land, to be paid in annual pay-
ments by the person who shall be in occupation, each year. Under one
of these Acts, tlie term of payment is fixed at twenty-two years, and
under a later Act, at fifty years.

Thus, if A own a life-estate in lands, and B the remainder, and the
estate needs draining, A may take such steps as to have the improvement
made, by borrowing the money, and repaying it by yearly payments, in
such sums as will pay the whole expenditure, with interest, in twenty-two
or fifty years ; and if A die by the expiration of the term, the succeeding
occupants continue the payments until the whole is paid.

A borrows, for instance, $1,000, and expends it in draining the lands.
It is made a charge, like a mortgage, on the land, to be paid in equal
annual payments for fifty years. At 6 per cent., the annual payment
will be but about $63.33, to pay the whole amount of debt and the inter-
est, in fifty years. A pays this sum annually as long as he lives, and B
then takes possession, and pays the annual instalment.

If the tenant expend his own money, and die before the whole term
expire, he may leave the unpaid balance as a legacy, or part of his own
estate, to his heirs.

The whole proceeding is based upon the idea, that the rent or income
of the property is sufficiently increased, to make the operation advan-
tageous to all parties. It is assumed, that the operation of drainage,
under one of these statutes, will be efiectual to increase the rent of the
land, to the amount of this annual payment, for at least fifty years. The
fact, that the British government, after the most thorough investigation,
has thus pronounced the opinion, that drainage works, properly con-
ducted, will thus increase the rent of land, and remain in full operation a
half century at least, affords the best evidence possible, both of the utility
and the durability of tile drainage.

Your committee are of opinion that these suggestions of
Judge French are entitled to the candid consideration of the
people of Massachusetts, and entertain the hope that the time

258 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

will soon come when the legislature of Massachusetts will see
fit, by judicious legislation, to abate some of the useless
dams which are now destroying thousands of acres of valuable
land, and sending forth seeds of death among its inhabitants.

Charles G. Davis.
C. C. Sewall.
James S. Grennell.

At the same meeting it was

Voted, That the Secretary of tlie Board be directed to call the atten-
tion of the mayor and aldermen of cities, and the selectmen of the towns of
this Commonwealth, on or before the 20th of April, annually, to the law
for the protection of sheep against dogs, and to urge its enforcement ;
and that the Secretary be also directed to ascertain, on the first of October,
annually, from the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the number
of dogs licensed, and the amount received therefor.

It was also

Voted, Tliat the experiments in manures instituted by circulai^s issued
by the Secretary of this Board, December o, 1859, for a term of three
years, shall be renewed ; and that the Secretary be, and he is hereby
instructed to issue the same circular, stating distinctly that the various
agricultural societies shall otler premiums for the experiments in
manures for three years, from April 1, 18G1.

This is intended to apply to an entirely new series of experi-
ments, and not to interfere with those whose entries have
already been made, which are to be continued till they are
completed in 1862. The importance of establishing an agricul-
tural school having been introduced, it was

Resolved, That this Board, believing that the establishment of an
Agricultural School would advance the interests of agriculture in this
Commonwealth, is disposed to give its influence to any well-directed
plan for such a school.

Voted to appoint a committee of five, by ballot, to cooperate at their
discretion with any men, or any body of men, who may have any plan
for an agricultural school to present, and report their proceedings at the
next meeting of the Board.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 259

A ballot having- been taken, it was found that Messrs. Wilder,
Walker, Clark, Stockbridge, and Sewall had a majority of
votes, and were elected.

Some complaint having been made that the law requiring the
weighing of the whole crop of grain, roots, etc., entered for the
premiums of the agricultural societies was burdensome and
inoperative, the subject was referred to a committee, which
presented the following

REPORT:

The committee appointed to consider the act passed by the
legislature, of 1859, with reference to obtaining the weight of
crops entered for premium with the agricultural societies in the
State, would respectfully report : —

That, in their opinion, the law in question imposes unneces-
sary burdens upon the farmers of the Commonwealth, without
securing the object intended by its passage. In judging of the
quality of a crop, and of its claims for premium, it is not the
weight alone which enters into consideration. The mode of
cultivation, the expense of the crop, the profit to be derived from
it, the condition of the land, both before and after the crop; the
time of seeding and of gathering, the uniformity of the crop
throughout the field, all come into the true estimate of its
value to the producer, and to the student of agriculture.
These things must be judged of, not under legal compulsion,
but by the intelligence of the committees called to view the
crops, aided by such information as the farmer can readily
bestow.

There seems to be no reason wliy, in obtaining this informa-
tion, the business of the farmer should be interfered with. It
may be impossible for him to weigh accurately the crop he
enters. He may have no conveniences for such a purpose.
He may be compelled by the weather to gather his crop in
haste. It may be important for him to dispose of it, before the
ascertaining of its weight would be of any service. He may
be delayed in threshing (if a grain crop) beyond the time of
decision. And the society with which he enters it may be
obliged to hold extra sessions at unseasonable times, in order to
declare its premiums ; and when all is done, the most valuable
part of the desired information is omitted.

260 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The principle, moreover, is a bad one ; and, if ever estab-
lished, may lead to extremely troublesome legislation. It is
impossible that any law can be passed applicable to all animals,
crops, experiments, (tc, for which premiums are offered by the
various societies. They must be left to make their own regu-
lations in these matters, according to the convenience and
intelligence of each locality, and for the purpose of furnishing
all the information in their power. The receipt of bounty from
the Slate ought not to deprive them of that privilege and pre-
rogative ; inasmuch as the advantages to be derived from careful
and particular legislation with regard to them may by no means
compensate for the difficulties and troubles, and lose of interest
which it may create.

There can be no doubt of the value of accuracy of information
with regard to the agricultural products of the State. But no
law can extract this from an unwilling people. A wide-spread,
general interest is important to every society, and wherever this
exists, much information can be obtained, which will be of
value to every inquiring agriculturist. And this interest is
considere to be one of the most important objects of our
societies, an object which is in every way worthy of tlie foster-
ing care of the Commonwealth.

The committee would recommend the following resolve :—

Resolved, That the fifteenth section of tlie Act relating to agricuhural
societies, cliapter G6, p. 378, General Statutes, requiring the weight of
all crops entered for premiuui, has proved to be burdensome on the one
band, and inoperative on the other; and that the State Board of Agi-i-
culture recoranaend its repeal, at the same time calling upon the several
agricultural societies in the State to obtahi accurate and careful informa-
tion upon the various modes of cultivating crops, and to make systematic
investigation into the amount produced, to be recorded in their annual
reports.

George B. Loring, Chairman,

S. H. BUSHNELL.

The objection to the re(|uirements of tlie law on tlie score of
the extra labor on the part of competitors, has less weight than
would appear at fust sight, and so far as it has any weight
at all, it may l)c met by an offer of larger and more liberal
premiums on the part of the societies.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 261

The time required to weigh an acre of corn, wheat, oats,
rye or roots, on a small phitform-scale, to be had temporarily
from the neighboring store, woukl not necessarily be more than
one hour, or at most, an hour and a lialf. For hay, if tliere
were any occasion for it, as is very rarely the case, the difficulty
is a little greater, as larger town scales would be required, and
they might not be at hand ; but the extra lal)or for all the small
grains and roots is but trifling in the way indicated.

The Committee on Agricultural Education, appointed a year
ago, having been authorized to obtain an Elementary Manual of
Agiiculture for the use of our common schools, made an
arrangement with Messrs. George B. Emerson and Charles L.
Flint, to prepare such a manual, to be submitted for approval
to the Board. The Manual was submitted to the Board at an
adjourned meeting, held on the 22d of January, and after a
full and patient consideration, it was

Resolved, That this Board approve of the Manual of Agriculture,
submitted by its authors, Messrs. George B. Emerson and Charles L.
Flint, and recommend its publication by these gentlemen, as a work well
adapted ibr use in the schools of Massachusetts.

THE STATE CABINET.

The efforts to increase the collection designed to illustrate
the Natural History and Industrial Resources of the Common-
wealth have l)een continued without interruption during the past
year. It is important that this collection should be complete
in all its departments, an object of pride and satisfaction to
every citizen.

Tlie contributions during the past year are as follows: —

Mammalogy. — W. II. Floyd presented a specimen of the Silver-
haired Bat ( Vespertilio noctivagans).

This animal is not common in this State, but occurs frequently in Con-
necticut, and is common in the southern counties of New York. Its
history is yet incomplete. It is black, with silvery hairs above and be-
neath ; above, a whitish collar across the shoulders extends upwards
towards the ears. The tail extends beyond the wing membranes. In
common with the other species it takes refuge during the day in hollow

trees.

33*

262 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Mr. Flovd also presented two specimens of the common Bat ( Vesper-
tllio novcboracensis), a specimen of the Hoary Bat ( Vespertilio pruino-
sxs), a specimen of the Star-nosed ^Nlole ( Conclyhira cristula), and a
specimen of the Short-tailed Sln-ew (Sorex brecicornis).

Mr. Floyd also presented the skull of a cat and the skull of a wood-
chuck.

"We would suffo-est that the value of a collection of skulls of the dif-

DO

ferent animals and birds of the State in a cabinet like the Agricultural
Museum connected with this department, is manifest, and it is hoped
that in the coming year those who have the opportunity to forward such
skulls as may be in their possession will please do so, and the donor's
name will be attached to the specimens, and they will be arranged and
named in a careful and scientific manner.

Maj. Jamks S. Grennell presented an albino Gray Squirrel {Sciurus
caroUnensis), and an old "Woodchuck (Arctomys monax), with remark-
ably long and curved incisors.

F. G. Sanborn presented a specimen of the Red Squirrel (Sciurus
hudsonius).

Miss C. M. F. presented a specimen of the common Ral>bit (Lepus
sylvaticus).

Col. Cyrus Knox, of Palmer, presented a specimen of the Otter
(Lutra canadensis), female. This animal is now quite rare in this
State, although once quite plenty. This specimen is perfect and a
valuable addition to the cabinet.

Ornithology. — Man}- donations have been made in this department,
and some exchanges effected for specimens which wei'e desirable for
supplying deficiencies in the diffei'ent genera.

W. H. Floyd presented a s])ecimen of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo
(Coccyyu^ americanus), female, a specimen of the Hairy Woodpecker
(Picus villosus), female. This bii'd is known by the popular name of
Sapsucker, from a belief that it sucks the sap of trees. In looking at a
fruit tree, tor instance, we may frequently see a series of holes com-
pletely and regularly encircling the trunk, and which are made by this
species. The popular notion is, that the bird makes these holes to suck
out the sap. But this bird is very seldom seen in our orchards or about
our dwellings in the summer months, when the sap is in the trunks and
branches, but seeks the solitude of the forests, where it generally rears
its young, and it makes its appearance in the orchards only in the latter
part of autumn and winter.

The perforations in the bark are made by the bird in searching for
insects qnd their larvic and eggs, and its industry surpasses that of any
of its tribe ; it is alwjiys observed moving about the bodies of trees, or

SEtlRETARY'S REPORT. 263

creeping along the branches, dihgently at work dislodging the insects
that are concealed between the bark and the wood. While thus engaged,
it labors with much energy and activity, fre((iiently spending several
minutes at one spot, rather than suffer the vermin to continue their work
of destruction unmolested. On such occasions it becomes so intent on
its. occupation as to allow one to approach quite near the scene of its
operations, and it may sometimes be seen drawing out the larvie from the
holes it has made and swallowing them.

Mr. Floyd also presented a specimen of the Golden-crested Wren
{^Regulus satrapa), female ; two specimens of the Cedar Bird (AinpcHs
cedroram), immature; a specimen of the American Shrike (^Gollyrio
horealis), female ; two specimens of the Red-eyed Flycatcher ( Vireo
olivaceiis), male and female; one specimen of Yellow- throated Fly-
catcher ( Vireo Jlavifrons), male ; a specimen of the Pine Grosbeak
(Pinicola canadensis), female. This bird is quite rare in this State,
being found so far South only in very severe winters.

Mr. Floyd also presented a specimen of the Red Crossbill ( Curviroslra
americana), young male ; two specimens of the Bob-o-link (Dj!icItoni/x
oryzivoriis) , male and femile ; and one specimen of the Spotted Sand-
piper (Tringoides macularius), young.

W. H. W. Perry presented skins of the following birds: Sharp -
shinned Hawk (Accipiter fuscus), female ; Blackburnian Warbler {Den-
droica Blackburnice), male ; Bay-breasted Warbler {Dendroica casfanea) ;
Canadian Flycatcher (Myiodioctes canadensis), female; Great Northern
Shrike (CoUyrio borealis), female; Pine Finch (Chrysoinitris pinus),
female, and Ruffed Grouse {Bonasa umhellus).

Col. Vj. Gerry presented a specimen of the Gos Hawk (Astur atri-
capillus), female.

Otis Putnam presented a specimen of the Double Crested Cormo-
rant ( Gractdus dilopkus), female.

T. C. Haskell presented a specimen of the Sky Lark {Eremophila
cornuta), young female ; also a specimen of the Crow Blackbird (Qids-
calus versicolor), female ; a specimen of the Woodcock {Phihhela minor),
and a specimen of the Little Auk.

Henry A. Purdie presented a specimen of the Maryland Yellow
Throat, {^Goethlypis trichas), female ; a specimen of the Nashville Warb-
ler {Hehninthophaga ruficapiUa) ; a specimen of the Black-throated
Green Warbler {Dendroica virens), male ; a specimen of the White-eyed
Vireo {Vireo novehoracensis), and two specimens of the Yellow-tlnoated
Flycatcher ( Vireo Jlavifrons).

E. A. Samuels presented a specimen of the White-eyed Flycatcher
( Vireo novehoracensis), female.

264 BOARD OF AGRICULTtJRE.

F. G. Sanborn presented a specimen of the yellow warbler [Dendroica
eestiva), female.

Maj. Jamks S. Grennell presented a specimen of an Albino Crow
{Corvus amencajiits), quite rare, shot by Avery Bell, of Greenfield;
a specimen of the Green Heron (Butorides virescens), and a specimen
of the Little Auk (Mergulus alle).

Amory L. Babcock presented specimens of the Chimney Swallow
{Chcetura pelasgia) ; Night Ilawk {Chordeiles popetue) ; King Bird
{Tyrannus carolinensis ) ; Least Flycatcher {Empidonax mininms) ;
Yellow Rump (Dendroica coronatd) ; Scarlet Tanager {Pyranga rubra) ;
Barn Swallow (Ilirundo horreorum) ; Red-eyed Flycatcher ( Vireo
olivaceus); American Creeper {Cert/na americana), female; Yellow
Bird {Chrysoinitris /m<<s), female ; Lesser Red Poll {Aegiothus Unaria) ;
Snow Bunting (^Pledrophanes nivalis), and Swamp Blackbird {Agelaius
phoemceus).

C. L. Flint presented a apecimen of the Snow Goose (Anser
hyperboreus), female. This bird was shot in Boston harbor, in July last.
Although occasionally found here in the migrations, it is very rarely
here at the season in which this was taken.

George P2. Everett px-esented a specimen of the Little Auk
(^Mergulus alle).

J. IL IIuNKiNS presented a specimen of the Long-eared Owl ( Otiis
wilsonianus). Shot on Boston Common.

E. Lake presented a specimen of the Blue Jay ( Cyanura cristata)

Ichthyology. — But few additions have been made to this de[)art-
ment during the past year. It is hoped that all interested in this
enterprise will send in contributions and make this branch of Natural
History fully equal to the other branches represented in the State cabinet.
But little })rei)aration is necessary before forwarding s})efimens. If they
are to come but a short distance, the only prej)aration necessary is
wrapping them in damp grass and boxing them securely with a slight
aperture in the box cover : if the distance is great, place tlieni in a box
on powdered charcoal, sprinkle the same on them to the depth of half an
inch, and fill the box with any thing dry and clean, (hay or shavings, for
instance,) the specimens will be prepared, named and placed in the
cabinet with the donor's name attached.

E. A. Samuels presented a specimen of the White Perch {Lahrax
mncronatus) ; a specimen of the Sea Raven {^Hemitripterus americanus) ;
a specimen of the Tautog {Tautoga americana); a specimen of the
common Pickerel (Esox reticulatus) ; a specimen of the Bill Fish
(Scomberesox equirostrum) ; a specimen of the common Brook Trout

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 265

(Salmo fontinaUs)i and a specimen of the Tom Cod {^Morrliua
tomcodiis).

¥. G. SA>fi50KN presented a specimen of the Gold Fish (Cyprinus
auratus), from Andover.

Herpetology. — Acknowledgements are due for the following dona-
tions to this department.

T. R. Webster presented a specimen of the Chicken Snake (Coluber
eximius).

W. H. Floyd presented a specimen of the Spotted Tortoise {Emys
guttata) ; a si)ecimen of the Wood Tortoise {Emys insculpta) ; a speci-
men of the Snapping Tortoise (Emys serpentina), young ; and two
specimens, male and female, of the Box Tortoise (Cistuda Carolina).

Mr. Floyd also presented a specimen of the Ringed vSnake ( Coluber
punctatus) ; several specimens of the Chicken Snake ( Coluber eximius) ;
a specimen of the Water Adder ( Coluber sipedon) ; and a specimen of
the Spotted-neck Snake (Coluber occipito-maculatus).

E. A. Sajiuels presented a specimen of the Spotted-neck Snake
( Coluber occipito-maculatus) ; a specimen of the Pickering's Hylodes
(Hylodes pickeringii) ; a specimen of the Red-backed Salamander
(Salamandra erythronota) ; a specimen of the Symmetrical Salamander
(Salamau'lra symmetrica), and a specimen of the Violet-colored Sala-
mander (Salamandra venenosa).

J. H. & J. O. Treat presented a specimen of the Black Snake
(Coluber constrictor).

Thomas Drew presented an upper half of the shell of a Snapping
Tortoise (Emys serpentijia).

Oology. — Henry A. Purdie presented nest and eggs of the Least
Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) ; three eggs of the Barn Swallow
(Hirundo horreorum) ; two eggs of the Cliff Swallow (Hirundo lunifrons),
and two eggs of the Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla).

W. H. Floyd presented nest and egg of the Cooper's Hawk'
(Accipiter cooper ii) ; nest of Least Flycatcher (Empidonax ininimus) ;
two nests and two eggs of the Maryland Yellow Throat ( Geothlypis
trichas) ; nest of Indigo Bird ( Cyanospiza cyanea), nest and two eggs
of the common Crow ( Corvus americanus) ; and nest and eggs of Blue
Jay ( Cyanura cristata).

E. A. Samuels presented nest and eggs of the Snow Bird (.Tunco
hyemalis). This nest is very rarely found and is a valuable addition to
the collection.

Entomology. — The department of Entomology has been largely in-
creased during the past season by donations and collections. Over fifty

266 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

undescribed species of Lepidoptera have been added, and several hun-
dred specimens of Coleoi)tera, Ilemiptera, and Diptera, the re.>uUsof the
summer campaip^n are now in process of preparation for the cabinet.
We have to acknowledge the receipt, from Mr. Denis Murray, of
Roxbury, of a large number of valuable specimens, some of them ex-
ceedingly rare. Among them several coccoons of AUaciis Cecropia,
containing larva of parasitic ichneumon flies ; three specimens of Cor-
diceps Carolineiisi's, growing from the larva of Elater communis, the
"wire worm;" a number of warts from the plum tree, caused by Sphce-
ria morhosa, and containing la r vie of ^geria exitiosa, some of which
passed through their transformations and produced the imago after being
deposited in the cabinet, and specimens of Cetonia Inda, galls of Cynips
semiiiator, and other gall-producing insects, among which is a new gall
upon twigs of the gi'ape apparently produced by a dipterous insect, but
which has not yet arrived at maturity. Mr. M. also presented a great
variety of scarce fungi, which will serve as a nucleus for a collection of
that class of plants.

Mr. Jamks Flint, of Reading, presented a nest of the common hornet
or paper-making wasp, Vespa crabro, suspended from a long shoot of
birch one-eiglith of an inch in diameter, two very fine specimens of
Gryllotalpa brevipennis, the "mole- cricket," and a specimen of Spectrum
femoralum, the " walking-stick insect."

From Dr. Briggs, of Abington, Ave have received a fine specimen of
Dryocampa imperialis, female ; one of Gastropacha Americana, Chau-
liodes pectinicornis, Saturnia lo, Spectrum femoratum, and an undescribed
species of Pygcera.

From Nathan Wyman, Esq., of Woburn, several coccoons of ^-IWaeus
Cecrppia, and Promethetis.

From William II. Floyd, of Weston, small pear-shaped nest of
the paper-making wasp, coccoons of Attacus Cecropia, and Prometheus,
and various alcoholic specimens.

From l*AOLi Latiirop, Esq., specimens of larva? and pupa? o^ Eury-
toma hordei in stalks of rye.

From Wm. F. Poole, Esq., specimens o( Saperda bivittata, am] larva
in a block of apple tree.

From Naiiim Smith, Esq., Weston, specimens of Tremex Columba in
walnut tree.

From W. 0. Haskell, Esq., of Chelsea, specimens of Corydalis cor-
nuius, and Cicada pruinosa.

From Charles IIerhert, of Rowley, a fine large specimen of hornet's
nest on thorn tree.

From Daniel Perham, Esq., Tyngsboro', specimen of Spectrum fem-
oratum, walking-stick insect.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 267

From Rev. E. D. Mooiii':, a very fine specimen of Hemerohius irro-
ratus.

From David Pulsifku, Esq., of Chelsea, specimens of Cicada pru-
inosa, Lncanus dama, «&c.

From Joseph R, French, E^^q., of Antlover, a fine specimen of the
green swallow-tailed moth, female, Attacus Luna.

From Edward C. Wood, of N. Bridgewater, a box of insects, con-
taining some forty specimens.

From Francis Stowell, of Concord, a box of insects, about twelve
specimens.

From G. Pike, Andover, several specimens of Noctuidoe and Bom-
hycidce.

From James Coverly, Esq., AVinter Street, Boston, a specimen of
Tremex, Avhicli, being in the pupa state in a block of wood, turned for
the purpose of rolling ribbon, had eaten its way out through several
yards of ribbon, destroying the whole piece, or at least producing a per-
forated pattern that is in very little demand in the market.

Miscellaneous. — Many donations of a miscellaneous character have
been made.

Hon. Oliver Warner presented, from the Board of Managers, a
piece of the Washington Monument.

J. Osgood, of Marlboro', presented specimens of Wlieat and Flour.

James Flint presented specimens of warts from cattle, three or four
inches in diameter.

G. Raymond presented two stone chisels, Indian relics.

JoSEi'H Bird presented a model of his excellent garden and fire
engine.

G. M. Atwater presented specimens of corn of different varieties.

In compliance with numerous requests, we publish a list of the birds
found in tiiis State, but not yet placed in the Cabinet. Those marked
thus *, are rare in this State.

Cooper's Hawk, (^Accipiter cooper it), male and female.

Sharp-shinned Hawk, (Accipiter fuscus), female.

Red-tailed Hawk, (Buteo borealis), female.

Rough-k'gged Hawk, {Archibuteo lagopus), male.

Black Hawk,* {Archibuteo sanctl-joluumis), female.

Golden Eagle,* (Aqmla canadensis), male.

White-headed Eagle, (Nalicetus leucocephalus), male and female.

Barn Owl,* {Sirix pratincola), male and female.

Long-eared Owl, (Otus icilso7uanus), male.

268 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Short-eared Owl, {Brachyotiis cassimi), male and female.
Great Gray Owl,* (Si/rninm cinereum), male and female.
Barred Owl, Sifrnium nebulosum), male.
Tengmalm'.>* Owl, (Ni/rfule ricliardsoni), male and female.
Saw-whet Owl, {Nyctale acadica), male.
Hawk Owl,* (Surnia ulula), male and female.

lilack-bai'ked, three-toed Woodpecker,* (Picoides arcticm), male and
female.

Banded three-toed Woodpecker,* (Picoides hirsuttis), ma\e and female.

Yellow-bellied Woodpecker,* {Sphyrapicus i'(niiis), male and female.

Kuby-throated IlmnniiMg Bird, [Trochilus coluhris), male and female.

Whippoorwill, (Anlrostomvs vociferus), male.

Kin"- Bird, {Tynmnus caroUnensis), iemale.

Great-crested Flycatcher, [Myiarchus crinitiis), female.

Pewee, {Sayornis fuscus), male and female.

Olive-sided Flycatcher, {Contopiis boreah's), female.

Wood Pewee, (Contopns virens), female.

Traill's Flycatcher,* (Empidonax traillii), male and female.

Least Flycatcher, {Empidonax minimus)., male and female.

Ruby-crowned Wren, {Regnlus calendida), male and female.

Tit Lark, (Ant/tus ludovicianus), male and female.
IMai-yland Yellow-throat, {Geoildypis trichas), female.

Connecticut Warbler,* (Oporonis agilis), male and female.
"Worm-eating Warbler,* (Hehml/terus veriniconis), male and female.

Golden Crowned Tiirush, {Seiurus aurocapillus), male and female.
Black-throated Blue Warbler, {Dendroica nigrescens), female,
lihickburniaii Warbler, (Dendroica blackburnice), male and female.

Bay -breasted* Warbler, (Dendroica castanea), male and female.

Black and Yellow Warbler,* {Dendroica macidosa), female.

Cape jVIay Warbler,* {Dendroica tiyrina), male and female.

Piairie Warbler, {Dendroica discolor), female.

Red Start, {Setophaga ruticilla), male and female.

Suuiiner Red Bird,* {Pyranga cfstira), male and female.

Barn Swallow, {Hiriindo horreorum), female.

White-bellied Swallow, (Hirnndo bicolor), male and female.

Baidv Swallow, ( Cotyle riparia), male and female.

Rough-winged Swallow,* {Cotyle sei-rip)ennis), male and female.

Purple Martin, {Progne purpurea), female.

Wax-wing Bohemian Chatterer,* {Ampelis garrulus), male and female.

Red-eyed Flycatcher, ( Vireo olivaceus), male and female.

White-eyed Flycatcher, ( Vireo noveboraccnsis), male and female.

Blue-headed Flycatcher, ( Vireo solitarius), female.

Yellow-throated Flycatcher, ( Vireo Jlavifrons), male and female.

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 269

Brown Thrush, {Harporhijnchus rufus), female.

Long-billed Marsh Wren, ( Clstothorus palustris), male and female.

House Wren, ( Troglodytes (gdon), male and female.

Wood Wren,* (^Troglodytes americanus), male and female.

Winter Wren, ( Troglodytes hyemalis), male and female.

White-bellied Nuthatch, {Sitta carolmensis,) female.

Red-bellied Nuthatch, (^Sitta canadensis), female.

Black-cap Titmouse, {Parus atricapillus), female.

Pine Grosbeak, {Pinicola canadensis), male.

Grass Finch, (Pooecetes gramineus), female.

Yellow-winged Sparrow, {Coturniculus passerinus), female.

Ilenslow's Bunting,* (^Coturnicidus henslowi), male and female.

White-crowned Sparrow (^Zonotricliia leucophrys), male and female.

White-throated Sparrow {^Zonotrichia albicollis), female.

Tree Sparrow (Spizella monticola), female.

Swamp S[)arrow (Melospiza palustris), female.

Indigo Bird (^Cyanospiza cyanea), female.

Ground Robin (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), female.

American Raven* (^Corvus carnivorus), male.

Fish Crow* (Cortnis ossifragns), male and female.

Wild Turkey* {Meleagris gallopavo.)

Quail (Ortyx virginianus), male and female.

White Heron* (Herodias egrefta), male and female.

Least Bittern,* i^Ardettaexilis), male.

Green Heron (^Butorides virescens), female.

Night Hei'on {Nyctiardea gardeni), female.

Golden Plover {^Charadrius virginicus), male.

Kill-deer {Aegialitis vociferus), male and female.

Wilson's Plover* (^Aegialitis ivilsonius), male and female.

Semij)almated Plover {^Aegialitis semipalmatus), male and female.

Black-bellied Plover (^Squatarola helvetica), male and female.

Oyster Catcher* (^Hocmatopus palliatns), male and female.

Turnstone (Strepsilas interpres), female.

American Avoset* {Recurvirostra americana), male and female.

Wilson's Phalarope* {Phcdaropus toilsonii), male and female.

Northern Phalarope* (^Phalaropus hyperhoreus), male and female

Red Phalarope* (^Phalaropus Julicarius), male and. female.

Gray Back (Tringa canutus), male and female.

Purple Sandpiper {Tringa maritima), male and female.

Red-backed Sandpiper {Tringa alpina), female.

Least Sandpiper or Peep ( IVinga wilso?iii), male and female.

Willet, (Symphemia semipalmata), female.

Tell Tale {^Gambetta melanoleuca), female.
34*

270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Yellow Legs {Rhyacophilus solitarius), female.

Marbled Godwit* (Limosa fedoa), male and female.

Iludjonian Godwit,* (Limosa hudsonica), male and female.

Long-billed Curlew* (Xumenins longirostris), female

Short-billed Curlew* (Numenim hudsonicus), male and female.

Esquimaux Curlew* (Numenius borealis), male and female.

Virginia Kail (Rallus virginianus), male and female.

Yellow Rail* (Porzana noveboracencis,) male and female.

Purple Gallinule* ( Gallimda martinica), male and female.

Snow Goose (Anser hyperhoreus), male.

Brant, (Bernicla brenta), female.

Mallard, {Anas boschas), male and female.

Pintail, (Dajila acuta), female.

Green-winged Teal {Nettlon carolinensis), male and female.

Blue-winged Teal ( Querquedula discors), female.

Shoveller (Spatula clypeata), female.

Gadwall* ( Cliuulelasmus streperus), male and female.

American Widgeon (Mareca americana), male and female.

Summer Duck (Aix sponsa), female.

Scaup Duck (Fulix marila), iemale.

Red Head (Aythya americana), female.

Canvas-back Duck* (Aylkya vallisneria), male and female.

Golden-eye Whistler [Bucephala americana), female.

Goosander (Mergus americanus). male and female.

Red-breasted Merganser {Mergus serrator), female.

Leach's Petrel* ( Thalassidroma leachii), male and female.

Pomarine Skua* (Siercorarius pomarinus), male and female.

Arctic Skua* (Stercorarius parasiticus), male.

Herring Gull {Larus argentatus), female.

Laughing Gull {Ghroicoceplmhis atricilla), male and female.

Kittiwake Gull (Rissa tridactyln), male and female.

Least Tern {Sterna frenata). I'eniale.

Doul)le-crested Cormorant {Gracuhis dilophus), male and female.

Red-throated Diver* ( Colymbus septentrionalis), male and female.

Horned Grebe {Podiceps cor«i<'«s'), male and female.

Guillemot ( Uria gryllc), male and female.

Foolish Guillemot {Uria lumvia), female.

Tlie State Agricultural Library, connected with my office,
has received many valuable accessions during the past year, and is
now one of the fargest, if not one of the best selected, agricultural
libraries in the United States. The collection of works on the
Honey Bee is believed to be the best and most extensive in the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 271

country. Most of the additions have been by purchase.
Acknowledgments are due to Mr. G. Howland Shaw, who pre-
sented to the library a copy of the " Description des Especes
Bovine ^^^ <fcc., volume 1, published by the French Government,
and to Gen. H. K. Oliver, for a copy of a Treatise on Afrri-
culture and Rural Affairs, by Robert Brown, two volumes,
Edinburgh, 1811.

By an Act of the legislature of 1859, 1 was directed to pub-
lish a new and illustrated edition of Harris' valuable " Treatise
on Insects Injurious to Vegetation." No pains have been spared
to make it a model of its kind in every respect. The most
eminent entomologists of the country have voluntarily con-
tributed to its perfection by way of notes, and the services of
the most talented artists have been secured to illustrate and
adorn its pages. This work is now in press, and will be issued
during the ensuing summer, in a manner highly creditable to
the Commonwealth. Fifteen copies are placed at the disposal
of each of the agricultural societies, to be awarded in premiums.

In conclusion, it is proper to state that since my last Annual
Report two new societies have been incorporated, making the
number now receiving the bounty of the Commonwealth
twenty-five. All are in a prosperous condition, notwithstand-
ing the fact that the exhibitions of the past year suffered from
the absence of neat stock, which was excluded on account of
the prevalence of the disease commonly known as pleuro-
pneumonia. This exclusion was regretted by some who were
not fully informed with regard to the alarming character of the
disease. But it should be borne in mind that under the cir-
cumstances then existing, and with the possibility that by
collecting large numbers of cattle the disease might be spread,
a proper regard to public safety demanded their exclusion, and
any other course might have been suicidal.

The details of the operations of the commissioners appointed
to exterminate that disease are to be found on a preceding page,
but it may be proper to state that since the report of the com-
missioners was presented, the last of the cattle known to have
been exposed have been destroyed, and the result showed most
conclusively the wisdom of this course, a considerable portion

272 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

of them having heen found badly diseased. The community
may now feel a degree of security which would not have existed
under any other circumstances, but the experience of the past
year shows the importance and necessity of rigid (juarantine
regulations with regard to the admission of foreign cattle.
Such regulations have existed for years in the kingdom of
Norway, and that country has enjoyed a perfect immunity from
this terrible scourge, till, during the past season, exception was
made by the government in favor of some Ayrshire cattle
imported for the farm of the Royal Agricultural College.
These cattle were landed in August, and carried the pleuro-pneu-
monia, so called, and on the 20th of December last, thirty, out
of the sixty head, had died or been killed, and others were still
diseased, an experience strikingly similar to our own.

With the exception of the misfortune above alluded to, the
past year has been one of marked prosperity, most of the crops
of the farm being fully up to the average of years, while the
abundance and yield of fruits, wheat, barley, oats and rye, were
wholly unprecedented in the history of our agriculture. May
the enterprise, thrift and skill of the farmers of this Common-
wealth be always rewarded by similar generous harvests !

CHARLES L. FLINT,
Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture.

Boston, January 23, 1861,

REPORTS OF DELEGATES

AITOINTED TO VISIT THE

AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS

ESSEX.

attended the annual exliibition of this society whicli was
held at South Danvers oii the 25th and 2Sth of September.
The trustees of the society had complied with the precautionary
recommendation of the Board, and liad declined to have an
exhibition of neat stock. The show of live stock was, therefore,
confined principally to horses and sheep, of which there was a
fair sliow, with probably as good specimens as are exhibited any-
where in the State. But I hope the day will soon come when
we may see at our cattle shows entries of sheep, which will
rival in variety and in the number of those who compete for
the premiums, the shows of neat stock, which have heretofore
engrossed so large a share of the exhibitions of this society.
Mr. Richard S. Fay exhibited some of his Oxford Downs, and
a Shearling buck of this breed, just imported, whicli weighed
two hundred and fifty pounds. I also noticed a Cotswold buck
of average size and appearance for its breed, which, I was
surprised to learn, was awarded the first premium. I notice in
the premium lists of many of our societies that a premium is
offered " for the best buck, of any breed," " for the best bull,
of any breed, <tc." Now, although it may perhaps be urged
by some farmers that they can select the best animal in a lot of
various breeds, it must still be remembered that no just com-
parison can be made between the best specimens of different
breeds, for the purposes of a premium. They are raised for
different purposes and have, therefore, different qualities and
points. No comparison can be made between a Merino buck
and Leicester ram, a Jersey bull and a Short-horn, any more

274 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

than between a pony and a draught horse, or a bantam and a
turkey ; and our societies should be the more careful to lead
committees to make just discriminations, when they perceive
that committees overlook distinctions and are inclined to award
a first j)i"cmium to the largest animal.

The ploughing match with horses, in which there were, I think,
fifteen competitors, was one of the most interesting and instruc-
tive portions of this exhibition, and it may well be asserted that
the loss of neat cattle at this exhibition, and perhaps the cattle
disease itself may be fully compensated if the farmers of Essex
shall be induced to use horses more extensively for all the
purposes of the farm. And here, also, I am aware that I am
oppoe-ing, to a great extent, the well-settled convictions of
many of our best farmers and closest calculators, who think
that it will never do to plough with hoi"ses. As our country
becomes better cultivated, our farms smoother, and our land
more enriched and oftener turned from the sod, and the whole
business of the farmer more systematized and confined to his
business, our farmers will learn what the experience of England
has taught her farmers long ago, that the ox is the most expen-
sive animal upon the farm. What is lost in depreciation and
risk of accident and disease by the use of the horse, is made
up in celerity of motion and adaptation to market business.

But whether these considerations are true or not, it sliould
be the policy of our societies to offer premiums for those depart-
ments and modes of husbandry which most need encourage-
ment. AVe have great doubts whether there is any better
ploughing with oxen now, or any more oats raised, than ten or
twenty years ago, by reason of premiums for these objects. If
the cultivation of wheat be desirable in Massachusetts let large
premiums be offered for wheat crops, and if it is well settled
that we should have pure blooded, until the quality of our stock
is raised much higher than the present average, the society
should offer a premium for a grade or mongrel bull.

The show of horses was choice, and showed much attention
to the breeding of those animals. The most valuable animals
on exhibition were descendants of Vermont Black Hawk through
Trotting Childers, owned and kept by Lambert Maynard, Esq.,
of Bradford. A five-year-old stallion, Doncaster, sired by
Childers, and owned by Dr. George B. Loring, attracted much

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 275

attentif)!!, by his style and spoed. He is of medium size, great
strength, and is in every respect a valuable addition to
the stock of tlie country. A four-year-old filly, sired also by
Childers, also exhibited by Dr. Loring, was worthy of the
attention of horse breeders. A two-year-old stallion, Bunker
Hill, sired by Doncaster, also exhibited by Dr. Loring, was
evidently a well-bred and powerful animal. A valuable St.
Lawrence stallion was exhibited by Mr. Boynton, of George-
town, and showed such speed and power as to receive special
attention of the committee on these animals. In addition to
these were Messenger horses of fine size, and evidently
adapted to the service of the farmer. The breeding of horses
has evidently received much attention from the agriculturists
of Essex County, who have endeavored to raise such animals as
will be j)rofitable to the producer.

It is worthy of notice that this society, one of the oldest and
most flourishing in the State, supported by most zealous and
enlightened farmers, continues its practice of changing its
place of exhibition from year to year in order to accommodate'
every stction of this large county. The unity and interest of a
show is greatly increased by confining all its departments to a
single enclosure. But if the consequence of locating these
exhibitions within a single enclosure in some central town,
shall be a division of the county into several sectional societies,
and a loss of general interest in the parent society, it is all
important that the present plan of the society be continued.
But the advantages of holding the cattle shows within an
enclosure are so great that I indulge the hope that the society
may yet Ijc enabled to hold grounds of its own in two or three
parts of the county, at which its exhibitions may be held in
successive years. By all means let old Essex confine its efforts
to a siii<>le society. Let not the county interest, and the
brotherly feeling, which late legislation has done so much to
dissolve, be further abated by the incorporation of another society.

The exhibition of fruits was especially noticeable. There
were eleven hundred plates devoted to fruit alone.

An address by Rev. John L. Russell, and a dinner, closed an
exhibition which was remarkably successful under discouraging
circumstances, as the first afternoon was lost in a flood of rain,
and the second day was graced by a most boisterous gale.

Charles G. Davis.

276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

MIDDLESEX.

As a delegate from the State Board of Agriculture, I attended
the sixty-eighth annual exhibition of the Middlesex Society,
holden at Concord, on the 20th of September. And although
I was pleased and highly entertained by some portions of the
sh.ow, 1 was not, as a whole, very favorably impi-essed by it.
Fears of the cattle scourge prevented the exhibition of neat
stock, and the horses, though respectable in numbers, looked
mean, raid I doubt not looked as tiiey felt, for being compelled to
exhibit themselves in a pouring rain. In the department of
breeding mares and colts the show was good, indicating that
the members of the society are interested and successful in this
branch of stock raising. A ploughing match by seven competi-
tors, was entered into with spirit, and excellent work performed
in spite of the weather ; but spectators seemed to prefer shelter
from the storm, rather than the excitement and instruction of
the trial, and a tliorougli drenching. A majority of the instru-
ments used were the Michigan double plough, and I conclude
by it, that deep, thorough pulverizing of the soil, is a cardinal
doctrine of tiie farmers of Middlesex. Of swine there were but
two entries ; but two animals on the ground, and these not for
breeding purposes, but for the butcher. Sheep there were
none, but poultry were respectable in numbers, and excellent
in quality. I noticed some most beautiful geese of the Bremen
variety.

In the department of mechanics the show was meagre. The
cash sheet of the society showed that the number of spectators
on the ground was small compared with former years. But the
inclement wcatlier drove them to the hall, which was full to
overflowing, not only witli spectators, but with fruit and grain,
vegetables, bread, butter, cheese, and specimens of the handiwork
of the industrious women of the society, in both the ornamental
and useful lino. The exhibition of flowers and fruits was of a
high order, especially in the department of apples and grapes.
The weather, though injurious to the interest of the society, was
treated as a capital joke ; the greatest good feeling and hilarity
prevailed. The occasion was enlivened by Gilmore's brass
band, that gave snatches of melody in the open air during the
occasional gleams of sunshine, but who, unlike the ploughmen,

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 277

made a precipitate retreat to the hall when the rain clouds
swept by. The society had no public dinner, but listened in
large niimbers and with apparent interest and satisfaction to an
excellent address from one of the citizens of Concord, Mr.
Thorcau. The address was an answer to the question, " Why,
when a pine forest is cut down, does a hard wood forest take
its place?" In apswering this, the speaker showed clearly the
necessity of rotation of cro])s, the great vitality of seeds under
favorable circumstances, and the means natvire had provided
for scattering and planting the seeds of trees and plants.
President Felton, of Harvard College, made a pithy speech,
contrasting the customs and methods of farming in the olden
time with those of the present day, and urged a higher culture
as the means of still greater advancement. Hon. Charles
Hudson, of Lexington, spoke of the value and importance of
agriculture to the State, and urged the necessity of its being
fostered and encouraged.

At the conclusion of these exercises, the annual meeting of
the society was holden ; a new board of officers elected, the
report of the treasurer, showing the financial affairs of the
society to be prosperous, was presented and accepted, and the
awards of the various examining committees made known.

As has been already mtimated, the show of the Middlesex
Society did not, as a whole, realize my expectations ; but the
State bounty has not been by any means misapplied or wasted.
The partial failure was owing to causes over which the officers
or members had no control. Rainy days, or years of pleuro-
pneumonia, may again occur, but the beneficial stimulus of the
State money will be seen, as this season, in the encouragement
it gives to those branches of agriculture that require the year for
illustration rather than the day of exhibition. This society is
much more limited at the present time, in its field of operations,
than during the years of its early history. The incorporation
of the ^Middlesex North, at Lowell, and South, at Framingham,
have somewhat localized it to the middle of the county, but its
premium list is open to competitors within the county limits,
and numbers avail themselves of the privilege. Middlesex
County is one of the best, if not the best county in tlie State,
for successful, prosperous husbandry. Its large manufacturing
and mercantile population make it a perfect beehive. Consumers
3.5*

278 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

greatly outnumber producers, and the home market, wliieli
demands all the products of the soil at highly remunerative
prices, encourages the farmers to exertions to meet the call.
As a consquence, the lucrative business of market gardening is
largely engaged in. Of roots and esculent vegetables, this
county, according to the statistics of 1855, raises more than all
the other counties of the State, and it is entitled to the appella-
tion of the garden of Massachusetts.

In closing this report, I wish to call the attention of the Board
to a transaction that occurred on the grounds of tliis society,
near the closing hours of its last exhibition. An intoxicated
Irishman, in a fit of drunken frenzy, with a dangerous weapon
stabbed two men severely, and, as was feared at the time, fatally.
For this occurrence theK)fficers or members of the society were
not culpable. General good order prevailed, and the offenders
in this brawl were promptly arrested. It is a question whether
our societies are sufficiently guarded and empowered by legis-
lation, to protect themselves from scenes of a similar character.
We desire these annual exhibitions to be holidays to the entire
community ; but good order, sobriety, and decorum should be
the law of conduct. We wish our families, our wives and
children to attend them ; and it is imperative that they should
not be made thereby the witnesses of scenes that shock the
finer sensibilities, or be brought in contact with any thing con-
taminating to purity and morality. At such large gatherings
the refuse of society are prone to congregate, with no laudable
object in view, and the officers of the societies should have legal
powers to prevent all drunkenness and debauchery, wantonness
or rioting, on or about their exhibition grounds. If the laws
are already sutTicicnt, they should be enforced with promptness
and energy ; if not, we should forthwith seek the enactment of
such as will accomplish the desired end.

Levi Stockbiudge.

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 279

MIDDLESEX NORTH.

The exhibition of the Middlesex North Agricultural Society-
took place at Lowell on the day fixed by law, and in most
particulars, it was a perfect success.

It would be difficult, I think, to collect in any part of the
State, a larger or richer display of fruits and vegetables than
that which loaded the tables in the large exhibition hall in the
Society's building, although the tempestuous weather of the
day preceding the show, prevented contributors from conveying
their specimens to the hall at the time required by the rules of
the society, in consequence of which a little less promptness
than usual was apparent in carrying out the different parts of
the programme, as the work of reception and arranging the
articles for exhibition, usually performed during the day pre-
ceding that on which the grounds are opened for the public,
was crowded into a few hours in the morning. The exhibition
of stock was small, as owners from a distance, who are obliged
to drive their cattle to the pens during the night, were prevented
by the storm from any attempt to perform an act which would
have been cruel to the animals and unprofitable to their owners.
During the past year the society has erected a model building
for its purposes, which for convenience and size is not excelled
by any in the State. It is built in the form of a cross, two
stories in height, well lighted with gas, and contains in one of
its wings a well-finished tenement, occupied by the superin-
tendent of the grounds. The society's dinner was served in
the upper hall, which afforded abundant room for the large
company drawn together by the high reputation of the orator
of the day, ex-governor Banks, who after the dinner fixed the
close attention of his auditors for a long period, by an able
address.

The absence of any delegate from the Board of Agriculture
was regretted, as the society would have been glad of any
suggestions by which its exhibition could be improved.

Upon the whole the occasion was more successful than any
of its predecessors, and the society will soon be one of the
strongest in the State.

John C. Bautlett.

280 BOARD OF ACxRICULTURE.

MIDDLESEX SOUTH.

Agreeably to appointment, I attended the annual fair of tlic
Middlesex South Agricultural Society, held on the 18th and
19th of September. The "weather was fine on both days. I
was very much disappointed in not seeing any of their fine cattle
on the ground, as I profess to be somewhat of a cattle-man,
having been brought up from my earliest recollections to raising
cattle and sheep. Of the former there were none on exhibition,
on account of the prevalence of the cattle disease in some por-
tions of the State, which, notwithstanding my disappointment,
I consider the wise course. To account for the absence of the
latter is not so easy a matter, for from my observation of the
country, I should think it was excellent for the raising of
sheep, especially the mutton varieties, witli profit, being easily
accessible to market. I suppose the raising of sheep for wool
might not be so profitable on account of the high price of land.
There was, however, one yoke of lambs hitched to a wagon,
driven by a little boy, which attracted about as much attention
as any thing on the ground.

I was in a measure consoled for the disappointment of not seeing
cattle on the exhibition grounds, by the pleasure I had in examin-
ing the fine herd of Ayrshircs on the farm of Mr. H. 11. Peters,
of Southborough, with whom I staid during the fair, and with
the manner in which he conducted his farming operations,
wliich is worthy of imitation, as also by the privilege of view-
ing the Devon stock of Mr. Buckminstcr, of Framingham.

Of horses, there were foi'ty on exhibition, including colts,
and some very fine ones ; but not being a connoisseur in horse
flesh, I will not enlarge on the subject; but would say,
though not a fast horseman, that I think they need a track of
some kind to show their horses on, as it seems to me, to show
the good qualities of a horse, especially roadsters, on grass
ground, and that somewhat uneven, is not quite the thing.

Of swine, there were twenty-one entries, and all good speci-
mens. I have rarely seen them excelled. Tiiey were most of
them very fine in bone, and some of them of lai-gc size, which
is not common with the finest varieties. Joseph Burnett, of
Southborough, exhibited several, which for size and fine pro-
portions, are not easily beaten.

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 281

There were twenty-ciuht entries of fowls. In this depart-
ment the sliow was excellent, and seemed to possess more
interest than in stock-raising localities.

The show in the hall was large, and the articles various and
of good quality.

The show of fruit was large and excellent, and the varieties
and specimens of the same variety were altogether too numer-
ous to particularize. They consisted of two hundred and forty-
six entries.

The show of vegetables was also large, comprising one hun-
dred and sixty entries. The specimens shown by Mr. Lewis,
of Framingham, showed he had a happy faculty in persuading
Mother Earth to bestow her bounty upon him.

The show of bread was the largest, I think, I ever saw, and
the quality appeared good.

One thing I noticed, in connection with the show of bread,
that was peculiarly gratifying. This was, that a large number
of the specimens on exhibition were made by girls from eight
to sixteen years of age, showing that they were brought up to
one good thing, at least, and such accomplishments are not apt
to be alone. It is one that can be appreciated by at least the
male portion of the community, and one of the utmost impor-
tance to the health of mankind.

Fancy articles were numerous and beautiful, consisting of
one hundred and six entries, which showed that the female
portion of the community had sufficient taste for the beautiful
and elegant, which is a pretty sure index of refinement.

Of miscellaneous articles there were seventeen entries, among
which were some splendid paintings.

Of articles manufactured from leather, there were nine
entries. Jellies and preserves thirty-four, some of which looked
very tempting to the palate.

Also, four varieties of fruit seedlings. The seedling grapes
of Mr. Clark were delicious, as I can testify from a specimen
he presented me.

Agricultural implements entered, seventeen, besides several
professedly labor-saving machines.

Grain, three entries. Reclaimed meadow, one.

There were six entries for ploughing, which took place the
morning of the second day, of which I cannot spoak, as it was
performed before I arrived.

282 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The first day was mainly spent in the entering and arranging
tlie articles for exhibition, and partakijig of an excellent dinner
ill the upper room of the hall, got up by the ladies for the
benefit of the society.

Tiie second day tlic committees attended to their duties, and
after a dinner, to which several were invited, provided by the
hospitality of the president at his house, we marched to music
by the band into the upper room of the hall, where we listened
to an excellent and instructive address by the Hon. Mr. Bullock,
of "Worcester. Subject, the model state, and proper division of
labor. England, he considered the nearest to a perfect model
state, and Massachusetts next. After which we listened to
music and to sjieeches from persons present, in the midst of
which I left for the cars.

In closing this report, I cannot refrain from acknowledging
the kind attentions of Mr. Peters and lady, at whose residence
I passed the nights of the 17th and 18th, and where I witnessed
some of the effects of thorougli farming, on a naturally rough
and stony soil, and must say that he thoroughly understands
the process of making the rough places plain and practices it also.

Matthew Smith.

WORCESTER.

The annual exhibition of this society was held at tlie show-
grounds in the city of "Worcester. In the absence of cattle, the
attention of the visitor was necessarily turned to the collection
of articles of manufacture, and specimens of crops in the hall,
and to the display of horses on the ground. Of sheep and
swine, but few were exhibited.

The samples of wheat placed before your delegate, from the
lots presented by John Brooks, Jr., of Princeton, J. C. Jaques,
of Worcester, D. F. Parmenter, of Ilolden, and T. B. Robinson,
of Barre, were remarkably fine. From the statements made,
it appears that from twenty-three and one-quarter to forty-two
bushels of this grain had been raised to the acre, and that much
attention is given to the introduction of the crop into the county.
As a staple of agriculture, no one can doubt its importance ;

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 283

and the recent indications that it can be raised successfully in
our State, should commend it to every farmer.

A specimen of oats, from the farm of T. D. Robinson, of
Worcester, raised at the rate of sixty-nine bushels to the acre,
attracted much attention. In a district, however, capable of
yielding good crops of wheat and rye, it is doubtful whether
oats can be considered a profitable grain for the farmer.

The exhibition of root crops was very creditable, indicating a
readiness to investigate that much-debated branch of agriculture.
Tiie Yellow Globe mangolds of John Brooks, Jr., of Princeton,
and the ruta-bagas, and carrots, and sugar beets of Harvey
Dodge, of Sutton, indicated careful cultivation, and a belief in
the minds of two of the best farmers iu the county, that roots
can be advantageously raised.

The show of fruit was small, but it gave evidence of care and
skill, especially in the production of apples.

The agricultural implements on exhibition were fully up to
what your delegate had a right to expect of Worcester, the
seat of so large a manufacture of articles of this description.
Ploughs, mowing machines, horse hoes, and the smaller farming
tools of every kind, made up one of the most attractive collec-
tions. The mowing machines were Ketchum's, the Buckeye,
and Manny's, with the latest improvements in each, and each
having admirers of its own peculiar excellence. Among all the
inventions, will not some one construct a good root-cutter ?

The dairy products were excellent.

Your delegate has not seen at any county show so large and
interesting a variety of horses as were exhibited at Worcester.
The blood of Cassius M. Clay was well represented in the large
and rangy colt of Mr. Thorndike. Joseph Burnett, of South-
borough, exhibited fine specimens of the Black Hawk, Morgan
and Balrownie stock, and as he has bred from a very valuable
mare, each of these strains of blood will have an excellent
opportunity to prove its comparative merits for New England
purposes. One or two good colts, sired by Ethan Allen, were
also exhibited. A very instructive selection of colts from
Trotting Cliilders, Cassius M. Clay, Ethan Allen, The North
Horse, and Green Mountain Morgan, could have been made
from the animals exhibited. It was noticed that size had very
considerable weight in the minds of the committee who awarded

284 BOARD OF AORI CULTURE.

the premiums. Perhaps it should be remembered tliat quality
is very desirable, especially in a stallion. The most valuable
stock-getters, such as Justin Morgan, and Black Hawk, have
been small horses; and the great merit of Sir Henry, and Flora
Temple, both less than fifteen hands high, never consisted in
their size.

Tiie affairs of the society, according to the statement of its
officers, seem to be in an improving condition. The ample and
beautifully-located grounds which it possesses, certainly present
all tlie attractions which can possibly appertain to a fixed place
of ex]iil)ition. And there is no doubt that the experience of
this society, above all others, might be of great service to those
which are projjosing to adopt a similar plan, instead of the
itinerary method now followed in some of the counties in this

State.

George B. Loring.

WORCESTER WEST.

Your delegate, by direction of the Board of Agriculture,
attended the exhibition of this society, at Barrc, on the 29th
day of September, and reports as follows : —

The day was a fine and cool autumn day, well adapted to
ploughing, draught and equestrian exercises. There was a
very large attendance, and the people seemed to enter into the
spirit of their annual festival with all their heart.

I found, with some difficulty, the field laid out for the
ploughing match, which was at some distance from the village,
wiiere three teams, of two horses each, were entered for the
premium on ploughing.

The ground was a rather loose gravel, and the sward was
new ; notwithstanding these unfavorable circumstances the
ploughing was well executed, and in good time. The ploughs
were Ruggles, Nourse & Mason's No. 7 Eagle — which seems to
be the favorite plough in this vicinity — the shortest time was
80 minutes 45 seconds ; the longest 33 minutes ; the depth of
furrow 7 inches ; the area ploughed one-eighth of an acre. The
horses were obviously well broken to the work, and the plongli-
ing seemed to me as well done as it could have been by oxen.

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 285

Owing to the prevalence of the cattle disease, there was no
exhibition of the fine cattle of which the farmers of this vicinity
are so justly proud, this part of the State having a great repu-
tation in this respect ; but there was exhibited a large quantity
of the finest cheese, which 1 know by experience brings the
highest price in the market. There was not so much butter
shown, nor was it of the same superior quality as the cheese,
although good. I promised myself the pleasure of visiting some
of the fine herds owned in this vicinity, but want of time com-
pelled me to postpone this gratification to the future.

Three or four military bands had come into town and enliv-
ened the occasion with their fine music, and, in my judgment,
added very much to the pleasures of the fair. I would suggest
to other societies the propriety of adding this feature to their
exhibitions, both as cultivating the love of music in the people
and satisfying that love of excitement incident to such occa-
sions, which is prone to seek other and more objectionable
modes of gratification.

Having given up the exhibition of cattle, a large premium
had been ofif'ered for the best cavalcade of horses. Large num-
bers came in from the neighboring towns, and it is not perhaps
too much to say that a large proportion of them could not have
been excelled in any part of the State ; this was especially true
of horses owned by the president of the society and ridden by
ladies of his family.

Your delegate would especially commend this feature — riding
by the ladies — to the notice of our agricultural soci^ies.
Nothing tends more to promote health, vigor of body, self-
reliance and courage in sudden emergencies, than riding on
horseback. If this habit — coupled with the cultivation of flow-
ers and fruits, so appropriate to the female sex — prevailed
among our ladies, we should hear less of spine complaints, and
the host of other real and imaginary diseases which rob our
ladies of half their charms and most of their usefulness. Many
of our societies do now offer premiums for the best riding by
ladies ; let us hope all of them will adopt the practice.

Some excellent draught horses were exhibited, of which I
noticed a sjjan belonging to the ^Massachusetts Powder Company,
which exhibited great power and excellent training, especially

36*

286 BOAED OF ArTRICULTURE.

in l)acking heavy loads, wliicli was equal to that of the best
trained oxen.

The show of fruits and flowers was very large and fine, the
long tables in tlie hall being (juite filled with them. Large
numbej's and varieties of pears Avore exhibited, which, though
not equal to the magnificent specimens grown in the immediate
vicinity of the metropolis, were many of them really fine and of
the most approved sorts. The apples were abundant, and better
than the pears. A few varieties of grapes were shown, but
owing to the unfavorable season, they were not very ripe, nor,
except a few hot-house grapes, of the best varieties. Charter
Oak and wild grapes are not worth growing, now that we have
g;oo(l and hanhj grapes that will give abundant crops on any
good corn soil. My belief is that good grapes may be grown on
the sunny slopes of the hills in this town.

Of vegetables there was not a very large display, nor were
they of the best quality. I confess to some surprise at this, for,
in our Middlesex, farmers think they cannot go into the winter
without a good supply of roots to feed out to their cattle with
the dry fodder of that season. Roots promote the health of the
cattle and are an alternative, to grain in feeding or fattening,
and it is undoubtedly good husbandry to grow them.

I was much pleased with the exhibition of articles of home
manufacture. Shawls, counterpanes, and many other speci-
mens of household industry, wrought with much taste and skill,
bore evidence of the housewifery accomplishments of the ladies.

l^egant specimens of boots and shoes, and palm-leaf hats —
wliich are made in this town in great numbers — were also
exhibited. After an eloquent address from the Plon. A. H.
Bullock, of Worcester, the Society went to dine, and the cere-
monies of the day were over.

E. W. Bull.

WORCESTER NORTH.

The annual exhibition of this society was held at Fitchburg,
on the :^")th of September.

The interest usually felt in the occasion was somewhat
abated by the absence of cattle ; but the efforts of the mem-
bers of the association to secure a good representation of other

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 287

kinds of live stock, and of cro{)s, fi-uit, and articles of manu-
lacture, were crowned witli abundant success.

The ploughing and spading were well performed ; and as
your delegate witnessed the former of these two operations,
performed by horses, he was led to consider whether, on the
rather light lands of the north part of Worcester County,
where farms and the market are well adapted to the dairy, to
fruit, and grain, the use of the horse was not most economical.

The exhibition of the smaller farm animals was very good.
The swine had been reared and fed with considerable care, in
accordance with a fact noticeable throughout the Common-
wealth, that these animals are better bred and better cared for
than any other animals on our farms.

The sheep possessed many points to recommend them.
Those on exhibition were represented to be a mixture of Cots-
wold, South Down, Leicester, and native. It would be difficult
to say what such a combination as this would produce ; but it
w^as somewhat evident that an attempt had been made to pro-
duce size at a small expense of feeding, and without due regard
for shape. There are but few districts in Massachusetts, capa-
ble of feeding during the summer months, the larger breeds of
sheep, in such a manner as to develop to the highest degree
their flesh and wool. Too much care cannot be taken, there-
fore, to secure such animals as will preserve their symmetry,
with such supply of food as our farms readily afford. A half-
fed cow may possibly pay, in proportion to what she consumes ;
a half-fed ox may drag through his daily toil ; but a half-fed
sheep seldom does more than reproach his owner for the mis-
taken economy practiced upon him.

There were many horses on exhibition, which were well
worthy of notice. The round, compact, and muscular shape
of the Morgan horse, was everywhere visible. That fine speci-
men of this breed of horses, known as the Green Mountain
Morgan, or Hale horse, had evidently left strains of his blood
in this region ; and for energy and strength of bone and
muscle, few families of Morgans have surpassed his own.

The breeding mares were as good a collection of well-shaped
and serviceable animals, as can be found in any part of our
State — not remarkable for especial care and uniformity in

288 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

breeding, but coming well up to tbc standard of the farmer's
horse of all work.

In the hall, the collection of fruits, flowers, vegetables, and
the productions of manufacturers and mechanics were very
attractive. The ingenuity and skill of the mechanics of Fitch-
burg, and the surrounding coiintry, are too well known to need
comment ; and the manufacturers there require no praise.

The display of fruits and vegetables, however, was finer than
was anticipated. The highest cultivation was shown, in the
specimens of pears, aj)plcs, grapes, ttc, which graced the
tables. They indicated the greatest attention to this branch
of husbandry, both in the garden aiid orchard. To good care
must have been added a remarkably well-adapted soil, to pro-
duce such fruit as was on exhibition. And as this was by far
the most interesting part of the show, there can be no doubt
that this society may furnish some valuable information to the
farmers of the Commonwealth, as to the comparative profits of
fruit growing and other cropping, and as to the soils best
adapted to this branch of agriculture.

The roots exhibited were very fine, but selected from smaller
quantities than should be found in a region adapted to di^iry
farming. The grain was excellent.

The affairs of the society were represented to your delegate
as being in a highly prosperous condition.

George B. Loring.

• WORCESTER SOUTH.

A cattle show without any cattle is very much like a play
with the ])art of the princii)al character left out. And such
was the show held at Sturbridge on the 4th of October last.

I arrived on the ground at about eleven o'clock, A. M., and
found the common well filled with people — most of the cattle
pens empty. A few were filled with fine looking sheep, and
some with swine of the best proportion which I have seen at any
exhibition. There was also a good display of poultry. Horses
and colts were there in considerable niimbers, and the committee
was performing its duty in examining them. After witnessing

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 289

the trials of speed, (none of wliicli were very frightful,) I went
into the fine brick hall of the society, which was well filled
with fruit, vegetables, grain, manufactured and fancy articles,
and products of the dairy.

The fruit consisted mostly of apples, which were very fine,
and in very great abundance and variety. There were a few
good looking pears and peaches.

The vegetables were not in great abundance, but were of
good quality.

Some very good samples of wheat and flour were there.

The butter and cheese were in great quantities, and prob-
ably were of good quality ; but of this I cannot speak from
knowledge, as the committee were at their work, and had a
guard to keep off all interlopers ; and from the distance at
which I was permitted to look on, I could not tell whether the
quality was good or bad.

At one o'clock, P. M., a good dinner was provided at the
Central Hotel, and at two o'clock, instead of an address, a dis-
cussion was held at the church for two hours, of four ques-
tions, viz. : on the culture of wheat in Massachusetts ; on the
culture of root crops ; the encouragement for fruit culture ;
and the propriety of bringing cattle to the next show. There
was a good attendance, and the discussions were interesting and
useful, and would have been much more so, had there been
sufficient time for each question.

At four o'clock the discussions closed for the reading of the
reports. The day had been cloudy, showing strong signs of
rain, and by this time it fell in profusion, dispersing the people
to their homes, and greatly interfering with the arrangements
which had been made for an evening entertainment at the
hall.

The show was as good as could be expected imder all of the
unfavorable cirumstances attending it.

I am indebted to the president of the society. Doctor Fiske
and his good wife, and others, for kind attentions.

E. W. Gardner.

290 board of agriculture.

worcestp:r south-east.

Your delegate attended the first fair and exhibition of the
Worcester South-east Society, held at Milford, on the 10th and
11th of October. He found the board of managers busily-
engaged at an early hour in arranging the tal)les in the spacious
town hall, covering them with specimens of all the varieties of
agricultural productions as well as a number of objects of
manufactures.

The great feature of the exhibition was tlie display of fruit,
consisting of apples and pears, arranged in six hundred dishes,
which appeared to be of the finest and most approved kinds.
One grower presented fifty varieties of apples. Among the
roots, I noticed specimens of sugar beets and the mangold
wurzel, 900 and 1,300 bushels to the acre. Of cereals, there
were one or two samples of wheat, 31 bushels to the acre, and
a remarkable one of California barley, weighing Co pounds to
the bushel, and 40 bushels to the acre.

Little attention is paid to the i)roducts of the dairy in that
section of the county, and only a few samples of butter and
cheese were exhibited.

From the appearance of the country in the vicinity of Milford,
covered as it is with boulders and bushes, I should judge it
well adapted to sheep-husbandry, which I strongly recommend
to the farmers there as well as elsewhere in our State.

Tlie show of swine was numerous and worthy of notice,
particularly those from Chester County in Pennsylvania, and
Columbia, in New York, which were large and compact,
without being coarse.

There were no cattle, for a well known cause. Of horses,
there were but a few, and scarcely any Avorthy of extended
notice, although doubtless some were well adapted to farming
purposes. A few coops of Chitagong fowls, and one of
Bremen geese, with another of turkeys, all well grown, appeared
very well.

The ladies presented many specimens of their handiwork ;
the pictures in worsted, attracted much attention, appearing
at a little distance like designs of the pencil.

The principal manufacture of Milford, is boots, which were
well made and appeared capable of being "• trampled on by all

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 291

the world," a consummation ardently desired, no donbt, by the
manufacturers.

I was much indebted to the Hon. Mr. Mayhew, president of
the society, for his hospitable attention, as well as to Mr. Cooke,
chairman of the board of managers, and the members generally,
for their cordial greeting, and to the ladies of the vinous
committee, I desire to render especial thanks — our communica-
tion savored somewhat of a spiritual character and was very
interesting.

The exercises of the second day consisted of a dinner, and an
address from Dr. Loring, at which I could not make it conve-
nient to attend.

I am happy to say, that the best order prevailed, and not a
single instance of intemperance was noticed.

Charles B. Allen.

HAMPSHIRE.

The mission of your delegate to the late exhibition of the
Hampshire County Agricultural Society was accomplished with
pleasure to himself and the desire that it might not be without
some benefit to those to whom he was sent. Contemplating the
duty assigned to him, he examined the latest agricultural sta-
tistics of the county in the census, under revision by a commit-
tee of the legislature, and compared them with those of former
years. Facts were thus ascertained which he deemed of suffi-
cient importance to demand consideration by the farmers of
Hampshire and suggestive of inquiries the solution of which
might be of practical service. Accordingly these facts were
presented, concisely, and as it is believed, with accuracy ; but
in consequence of the brevity which the occasion necessarily
required, the practical inquiries suggested by them could not
be pursued. The knowledge of these facts may lead to similar
investigations and inquiries with respect to other counties, and
tliey are therefore repeated here.

Hampshire County — the " County of Homes," as its name is
said to signify — was formerly, with only one exception, the
largest sheep-raising district in the Commonwealth. Comparing
the statistics of the countv in the latest census with those of

292 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

former years, your delegate "vvas struck not only with the
decline of this branch of agricultural wealth and prosperity,
but with the marked changes also in others. In 18o7, there
were in Hampshire, as we have seen it stated, 43,000 sheep of
various breeds. In 1850, this number had been reduced to
38,000. In 1855, to 22,000. In 18G0, to 16,000. Thus, in
twenty-three years, there has been a diminution of 27,000 — or
more than sixty per cent, of the number of these most valuable
animals. It would be matter of curiosity, if not of benefit, to
ascertain from authentic records, were it possible, how much
the number of dogs — a class of animals useful, when properly
trained and in their proper place, but mainly a non-producing
class — had been increased within the same periods of time.

Sheep we regard as among the most valuable and profitable
sources of agricultural wealth. A sheejvfarming system must
be highly advantageous to the land, and, with proper care and
attention, would yield a large proportion of profit in the wool
and carcase of the animal.

Undoubtedly, the farmers of Hampshire have satisfactory
reasons to offer for this marked change in the ofvjects of their
attention, and it might be for the advantage of otliers to know
what they arc. The fact is potent that the farmers of Hamp-
shire and Berkshire are amongst the largest producers, in the
Commonwealth, of wheat, corn, oats, broom-corn, and, we are
now obliged to add, of tobacco. And the question suggests
itself whether sheep do not yield a manure best adapted to fer-
tilize the soil for these grains and at the smallest expense.
Indeed, the whole subject of sheep-raising, whether for advan-
tage to the land or the profit of wool and mutton demands, we
think, the attention of all our farmers, and is worthy of careful
consideration. We cannot but regret the change so apparent
in this county, if it be indicative of circumstances which will
in the end seriously affect the agricultural wealth and prosper-
ity of that portion of the Commonwealth.

In 1855, there were in this county 3,500 oxen ; whereas,
there are now, according to the latest census, only 2,900.
Sixteen towns are represented as sharing this diminution;
some of thera to the extent of more than fifty per cent. In
1855, the number of steers was 3,400, and now it is 9,800, —
the increase being very large in every town. In 1855, the

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 293

numlier of cows was 14,000 ; and now it is less than 11,000, —
cxliiljiting a diminution in every town, except one. This
remarkahle clian<^e f'rura products of the dairy to offerings for
the sliamblcs — from butter and cheese to beef — suggests the
inquiry whether the cause of it is to be found in the evil, which
so generally affects agricultural communities elsewhere, — the
difficulty of procuring at a reasonable cost, or, indeed, at any
cost whatever, competent and reliable help for carrying on the
dairy, — or in the relative profitableness of the dairy and of
raising and fattening cattle.

Hampshire County is remarkable, according to the statistics
of 1855, in another respect, — the entire absence of swine in
sixteen of its towns. This deficiency is now supplied, according
to the statistics of 18G0, which represent the possession of more
or less swine in every town, and of 4,200 in the whole county.
Yet even this number exhibits a diminution of more than thirty
per cent, since the census of 1850.

The inquiry is suggested by these facts whether the statistics
of the census of 1855 were correct ; or whether any local and
temporary cause then existed for this remarkable abandonment
of swine, which has now passed away ? Or does the relative
profitableness of pork and beef and other sources of gain to the
farmer afford a more satisfactory solution of the inquiry ?

In 1855 there were in the county 41,000 acres of mowing
land, yielding anmially 38,000 tons of English hay. The
present census records 42,000 acres, yielding 40,000 tons.
Both these statements exhibit the average crop of English hay
as less than a ton to the acre. Tlie census of I860 shows, fur-
thermore, that, in one town, there has been a diminution of
three hundred per cent, in this article, since 1855 ; and, in
another town, a gain of one hundred and fifty per cent.

Of other lands and crops your delegate could not speak,
because he could not obtain any authentic record of thoni at the
time.

The point, to which he intended to call the attention of the
society, was — the importance of having only accurate and
reliable statistics of the agricultural wealth and products of
the county made public. And the inquiry he would have
suggested is, whether measures niiglit not be adopted iiy the
society itself, for the accomplishment of so desirable an o'liject,
37*

294 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

before tlie next census sliall be taken. Not only is the reputa-
tion of tbc farmers for intelligence, industry, and thrift con-
cerned, but, as the fticts become part of the published statistics
of tlie whole country, they help to form that general autlicntic
information, of which, — if in any respect unfavorable, — com-
mercial agents and eagle-eyed statesmen abroad will avail
themselves, for decrying our climate and soil, or interfering, by
legislative enactments, or by largo importations of produce,
with the labor and income of our people.

The exhibition of this society was held on the 11th and 12th
days of October, and was highly creditable and successful, and
tbe whole aspect of the society is indicative of vigor and pros-
perity. It is only just, however, to say, that the character of
the exhibition, and the present vigorous and prosperous
condition of tlie society are owing, in a great measure, to the
energy and efficiency of the President, and Executive Com-
mittee. By their united efforts, the society had been safely
carried through a sharp contest, exhibiting at one time, peculiar
asjjcrity, — a tract of land embracing sixteen acres, had been
purchased, graded and fenced ; and, within about three weeks
before tho exhibi ion, a large, well-constructed building had,
by almost superhuman efifort«, been erected and finished
throughout. It was peculiarly gratifying to observe with what
a generous spirit these efforts were appreciated by the people,
and how strong was the disposition to sustain a policy which
liad resulted so advantageously to the society ; and if any
di affect on yet remains, we cannot doubt that entire una-
ni.nity of feeling and action will soon be restored.

The grounds of the society are situated in the south-eastern
part of the beautiful village of Amherst, at a distance of less
than two miles from the centre, where the exhibitions were
formerly held, and are well adapted to their purpose. They
afford ample room for large exhibitions of stock; for ploughing,
drawing and s})ading matches; and for various gymnastic exer-
cises, which have here been introduced with general satisfac-
UcAi. There is also a perfectly graded and well-pro})oi'tioncd
track for such exhibition and trial of horses as is demanded by
the spirit of the times. Comfortable and elevated seats are
arranged for tlie occupancy of ladies, who may thus have a

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 295

complete view of every department of the exhibition on tlie
grounds. The building is capacious, — 100 feet in length by
50 feet in width, — containing on the lower floor, a hall snitabhj
for the exhibition of every class of articles which may properly
be presented there; and on the upper floor another hall capable
of accommodating comfortably a thousand persons.

The programme of the occasion was happily arranged and
exactly carried out, — avoiding all confusion and delay. The
delivery of the address in the hall was assigned for an eaily
hour in the afternoon of the first day, giving to all who desired,
an opportunity to hear it, without discomfort and witiiout
additional expense ; and to the attraction of a distinguished
and eloquent orator, was added the novelty of excellent music,
by the club of Old Folks. The hall was filled with earnest
listeners, and the appropriate and instructive address by Dr.
Loring, of Salem, was received witli the highest satisfaction
and ap})lause. The music of olden times, performed with
artistic skill, fell gratefully and with stirring power upon many
ears.

To enumerate and describe the multifarious articles arranged
in the hall ; the successive exhibitions of stock upon the
grounds ; the ploughing, drawing and spading matches ; the
gymnastic exercises ; and — the crowning interest of tlie occa-
sion— the beautiful display of horses, with different trials of
their training and speed, and the healthful and graceful contest
of equestrianism by ladies and gentlemen ; all this is unneces-
sary, and would extend this rej)ort beyond appropriate limits.
Suffice it to say, that there was in the hall an exceedingly fine
display of the various products of the field, the garden, the
orchard and the dairy, — of female industry, taste and skill, —
and of various mechanic arts, which were all viewed by crowds
of visitors with gratification and benefit. Among the specimens
of mechanic art were several of great excellence and deserving-
special consideration — particularly mowing machines of dif-
ferent patents, and a cylinder })lough, which appeared to be
well constructed and better adapted for general use than any
we have seen.

There is scarcely any thing more important to the farmer, at
the present day, than the improvement and better adaptation of
agricultural implements, and the introduction of valuable

296 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

labor-saving macliines. These are now multiplied to an almost
iiicalculaljle extent, and we believe it wouUl be time spent to
great advantiige, if agricultural societies, either independently
or in combination, wliere they are contiguous, would set aj^art
a day, at an earlier season than the anniuil cxhil)ition, for a
leisurely inspection and trial pf such machines and implements
as inventors and patentees are endeavoring to bring to public
notice and sale. One of the most distinguished farmers of the
Commonwealth once said, on being questioned respecting the
use of new and improved implements, that he had built several
barns for storing the thousand almost useless implements, which
he iiad been tempted to j)urchase by the assurance, backed by
many names, that they were really improvements. Now, if
such an examination, trial and comj)arison of implements
and machines, as we have suggested, could be had at diti'ercnt
places, it would benefit every farmer in the land ; save much
vexatious disappointment and expense ; and at least, allord
opportunity, to all interested, to select satisfactorily such as are
best adapted to their wants and their means.

We noticed in the hall, several specimens of seed-giains of
different sorts and of great perfection — some of which were
raised and contributed by a gentleman who wortliily occupies a
seat at this Board and is a most cflicient member of the Hamp-
shire .Society. We regard the olfering of premiums for grain,
root and grass seeds, as wortiiy of being adopted by all agricul-
tural societies, and tending to eOect a general improvement in
the quality as well as quantity of the best farm crops.

The quantity of stock exhibited was, for obvious reasons,
unusually small. In quality, however, it was good, and some
of a superior character. We noticed a beautiful herd of
Ayrshire cattle owned by L. Sweetser, Esq., formerly a mem-
ber of this Board. Among them was a cow five years old,
weighing 8(30 pounds, that had yielded, in twenty consecutive
days, a (quantity of milk equal to her own weight. Also a fine
j)aii' of grade short-horn oxen, five years old, weigliing 3,520
pounds ; and several other pairs of admirably well-trained
cattle — particularly a fine pair of steers trained by a lad under
sixteen years of age. But we must confess to a great disap-
j)ointmcnt of our expectations of seeing more and finer cattle

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 297

in this part of the Connecticut Valley. A similar feeling of
disa))pointmcnt attended onr inspection of sheep and swine.

The |)louglung' match was contested hy only five comjietitors,
on tlic first day, ploughing with oxen ; and by only seven on
the second, using horses. The contest, however, was s{)ii"ited
and the work well done. I'hc general employment of a driver
of the team, besides the holder of the plough, seems to us to be
unnecessary with any thing like a well-trained team ; and
equally so, the frequent urging of tlie team, which indicates an
anxiety to complete tlie work quickly, rather than to do it
thoroughly.

One of the most })leasing features of this occasion was the
admirable spirit manifested, in the free and joyous association
of the men of literature aiid science from the academic hall
with tlie hardy cultivators of the soil and industrious laborers
in the mechanic arts ; all engaged, with apparently equal zeal
and interest, in promoting the special objects of the day. Nor
do we know of any thing which affords better promise for the
advancement of the great interests of the State, than the closer
union between science and labor which is here and elsewhere
felt to be essential to the common weal, and the ampler pro-
vision which is here and elsewhere made for higher attainments
in the knowledge and application of those sciences chiefly
pertaining to agriculture and the mechanic arts.

The recollection of Amherst and its beautiful scenery — so
garnished as it was by the hand of creative wisdom and
benignity — its noble institutions of learning, offering the best
possible advantages for acquiring knowledge and forming char-
acter, sharpening the intellectual and strengthening the physical
powers — the general intelligence and moral worth, the comfort-
ableness and happiness of the people that crowded the agri-
cultural liall and grounds ; and especially the attentions and
generous hospitality which your delegate received, will ever
remain among the pleasant memories of his life.

Charles C. Sewall.

298 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

HIGHLAND.

Agreeably to appointment by the Board, I was present at the
second show of the Highhmd Society, at Middleficld, Hamp-
shire County, September 13 and 14.

Owing to a violent easterly storm, the day preceding the
exhibition, but a small collection of stock was expected, but to
my surprise over three hundred head were on the grounds.

The farmers of this vicinity devote themselves principally to
the raising of neat cattle for beef purposes, and they have
spared neither pauis nor expense in procuring animals of the
most approved breeds, for the improvement of their stock.

The show of oxen and steers was the best I have ever seen
at a county show, not for numbers or perfection of training,
but for size and early maturity ; almost every yoke, especially of
steers, was quite remarkable. A pair of grade Durhams, three
years of age, sired by " Roan Duke, " were estimated to weigh
4,000 pounds ; several other yoke, the same age, would weigh
from 3,200 to 3,600 pounds ; two pairs of three years old
Devons were marvels for beauty, weighing about 2,800 pounds
each ; the yearling and two years old grade Durhams were
unusually large.

The collection of bulls though small was very superior.

Devon bull " Winchester," (500) eight years of age, at-
tracted a great deal of attention, and was a very fine speci-
men of this popular breed. A bull calf by the above, out of
" Minna," (90(3) was a most promising animal.

Hereford bull " Prometheus," three years old, from Reming-
ton's herd. New York, was a large and valuable creature.

I was much pleased with an eight months Durham bull calf,
by " Marmal Duke," out of a Thoroughbred cow from Mr.
Lathrop's herd, of South Hadley.

I was ])articularly interested in the Durham bull " Roan
Duke," six years old, by " Grand Duke," the latter imported
by Mr. Thorne, of New York, at an expense of one thousand
guineas. " Roan Duke" is one of only three bull calves ever
sired by "Grand Duke," in this country; he is a splendid
specimen of the "short-horn" family, and has already been of
great service in improving the size, and hastening the
maturity of the cattle raised in this vicinity ; although he was

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 299

not OB the grounds, a notice of him should accompany this
repom I think him a most invaluable animal for this locality,
where he seems to be highly appreciated.

Tiie show of cows and heifers was not large, and this being
a beef raising district, more attention appears to have been
])aid to the size of cows, than to beauty or milking points ;
there were, however, a few on the ground, principally grade
Durhams, that possessed the requisite qualities for large
milkers.

Of sheep there were fifty-eight entries, mostly of the fine-
woolled varieties. There can be no question but that this
mountain portion of our State is eminently adapted to the
raising of sheep ; there is not so much attention paid to it now
as formerly, but I was glad to see by the anxiety exhibited by
farmers present, to purchase those on the grounds, that sheep
husbandry is receiving renewed attention. The supply of the
fine-wool breeds was not equal to the demand.

There were but few entries of swine ; not many are raised
in this locality, corn being a very uncertain crop on these frosty
hills.

Within the building, the show of apples was very good ; of
pears thri e were but few good specimens ; of garden vegetables
a fair supply.

Among the dairy products I noticed some superior samples
of butter. But little cheese was exhibited.

In the ladies' department I was pleased to see that nearly
all the articles presented for exhibition were of a useful nature,
calculated for substantial service. Quantities of homemade,
or rag-carpets ; also homemade flannels, thick and well woven
particularly struck my attention.

The second day was pleasant, and the attendance large.
There were entered 115 horses and colts, nearly all of them
well calculated for every-day use.

Eight stallions, mostly of the Black Hawk family, showed
their paces on the rather uneven and heavy track ; these were
followed by matched, and family horses, and horses for all-work,
and lastly by the mares and colts.

At one o'clock, a procession was formed, which marched to
the Congregational Meeting-house, which was soon filled. A
most instructive and interesting address, " On the Horse," was

300 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

delivered liy Professor Clark, of Amherst. This was listened
to by the large audience with the closest attention ; the sulijcct
being- illustrated by diagrams, added much to its value, as all
could understand the points as explained by the speaker.

At the conclusion of the address, the premiums in silver
plate, were distributed among the successful competitors.

During the evening of the first day, a very pleasant re-'
union of the members of the society was held in the hall,
on the fair grounds, at which the ladies were present. Short,
but pithy speeches were made by several gentlemen, the general
tendency of which went to prove, that there is no life like that
of the farmer, for real independence and consequent enjoyment.
The speeches being interspersed with good music, the evening
was pleasantly and profitably passed.

The festivities of this exhibition were appropriately closed
by a ball, on the evening of the second day, which was very
generally attended by the lads and lasses of the surrounding-
district.

In closing, I would remark that a very noticeable and
gratifying feature in this exhibition, is the fact that this society
is almost entirely composed of working farmers. Xo wealthy,
fancy farmers (so called), had their blooded stock here to
compete with, and discourage the workers from contending for
the premiums, as is undeniably the case in some places.

This society has grown up amidst some discouragements, but
owing to the perseverance and determination of a very few
persons, it has now become firmly established. There has beeu
some effort made to get up a rival society, whose grounds
would be located within a few miles of those at Middlefield.
I was glad to hear that many who had heretofore favored a
separate organization, are coming forward and joining this.

If we have not already too many societies in our State, I
am sure that we have enough, and they are so scattered that
all can be reasonably accommodated. I trust that the idea of
another society in this vicinity, will be abandoned. Two weak
societies could not help the cause of agriculture, as can one
strong one. In a sparsely populated district like this, farmers
must be willing to come from a distance, and I feel assured
that if those within the society's limits will come forward and
help the cause, that the Highland Society will become one of

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 301

the sounilest and most useful institutions of the kind in the
State ; an institution established by the working farmers,
supported by them, and for their benefit.

I believe that the object of the State in lending its aid for
the encouragement and improvement of agriculture, is no-
where better carried out than by this association.

Henry H. Peters.

HAMPDEN EAST.

The day of the annual exhibition by the Hampden East
Agricultural Society was fine, and well adapted to the purposes
of the occasion.

Arriving at Palmer early in the forenoon, my first impres-
sion was, that I had made a mistake in regard to the appointed
day, so little indication did I see of such a public interest and
such a general gathering as is usually met with at the cattle
shows wbich 1 have heretofore attended. My first inquiries at
the railroad station, as to the location of the exhibition, were
answered doubtfully, the respondent saying that he believed
there was some kind of a show behind the hotel, in which
direction I turned my course, and in due time reached " Hamp-
den Park," where I had the good fortune to meet the delegate
from the Hampden East Society to this Board, from whom I
received every attention which the occasion required. The
park presented nothing attractive, the panic in regard to the
cattle disease having prevented the exhibition of neat stock,
and in company of Col. Knox, I proceeded to the hall in
which were exhibited the various articles usually shown in such
places, and I most cheerfully give the society credit for a very
neat, though not very large exhibitio^n. The specimens from
the vegetable productions of the farm were of a very superior
character. Superb and healthy looking potatoes, fine squashes,
beautiful wheat and rye, and in this connection I would also
mention bread and butter delicious to the eye, were of as high a
quality as I have ever seen at such places. The exhibition of
fruit was very attractive, and manifested good care in the selec-
tion of varieties, and diligent culture which was shown in the

38*

302 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

quality of the specimens. I liavc often noticed that when the
cultivation of fruit is first introduced to any locality, the ten-
dency is to select fancy varieties, rather than those of well
established reputation. But the cultivators in Hampden East
appear to have acted more wisely, and to have avoided the evil
of multiplying the kinds at the expense of profit. I think,
indeed, in reference both to apples and pears, I saw fewer
varieties which would not at once command a remunerating
price in the market than is usual, even in the oldest fruit
districts.

>Iy time being very limited, I did not attend the dinner, nor
hear the address, and must pass them over without comment.
If I were to speak a word of advice to the managers of the
society, it would be in reference to an effort to increase the
interest in the public exhibitions of the society. I think I never
saw so few people collected at any exhibition of the kind, as at
Palmer, although I was informed by several persons, that the
number would be much increased to witness a horse trot in the
afternoon, which was not, however, under the auspices of the
society.

Without in any way touching the propriety of such exhibi-
tions, the thought occurred to me, that if a horse race must
come off, it would be bettor to hold it in the morning, in order
to draw out the people at a time when a crowd could be made
more profitable to the society.

Upon the whole, however, the exhibition, although not
extensive, was calculated to call forth a spirit of emulation, and
an effort for improvement which must redound to the benefit
of the farmers in its neighborhood.

John C. Bartlett.

FRANKLIN.

The eleventh annual Franklin show and fair of the Franklin
County Agricultural Society was held at Greenfield on the 27th
of September. ]\ry appointment by the State Board was to
attend the exhibition of the Essex Society, but at the request of
Hon. Charles G. Davis, of Plymouth, I made an exchange, and

BEPORTS OF DELEGATES. 303

attended at Greenfield. Previous to entering upon my duties
there, I learnt that its second day's exhibition was to be dis-
pensed with, and that there were to bo no cattle, no address,
and no dinner. I began to wonder what they would have !
On arriving upon the grounds I found that tlic society's untir-
ing secretary had so arranged that the exhibition was success-
ful, interesting, and profitable. A large crowd of people was
present to witness it.

The show upon the grounds of the society was confined to
the exhibition of sheep, swine, and fowls. The display of all
these was said to be far superior to those of any former year.

I consider the best feature of all was the sheep, of which
there were thirty entries, and one hundred and fifty on exhibi-
tion. Thomas J. Field, of Northfield, had over fifty, of three
different grades. D. 0. Fisk, of Shelburne, entered five lots,
and several others made entries. The secretary of the society
exhibited fifteen most superior lambs, which were a cross of
the Oxford Downs and Irish Smuts. Their appearance shows
this to be a most judicious cross. Mr. Grennell also exhibited
two pure bred Oxford Down bucks, from the imported stock of
Richard S. Fay, of Lynn. This breed promises to become a
most valuable and profitable addition to our sheep husbandry.
They possess fine bone and symmetry, light offal, early maturity,
great aptitude to fatten, and yield a heavy fleece of fair quality
of wool.

Mr. Richards Bradley, of Brattleborough, added to the exhi-
bition by presenting, at the request of the officers of the society,
his pure bred Cotswolds, recently selected and brought out
from England by Sanford Howard, Esq., of Boston. As a breed
they stand high, both in England and in our own country.
Those of Mr. Bradley are very fine specimens of the breed.

Of swine, there were fifteen entries, comprising about sixty
animals, and a very good collection. Mr. Grennell's Chester
County, Pa., boars were very conspicuous, and seemed to be
the sultans of the harem. The best premiums were won by
the stock which was a cross with this on other breeds.

Mr. J. A. Clark, of Greenfield, exhibited pure bred Sufifolks,
which have descended from our best importations of that noted
breed.

304 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

There was a good exhibition of poultry, made up out of
nineteen entries. Mr. J. A. Clark had wild gee^e, fancy-
pigeons, and very fine game fowls. Bronse turkeys, and many
other varieties of fowls were on exhibition. The enterprising
farmers in this county have done much to introduce the best
breeds of cattle, horses, sheep, swine and fowls, and for their
liberal outlay and enterprise, they are reaping their reward.

The exhibition in the hall was creditable. Fruit was dis-
played in abundance, consisting of peaches, grapes, pears, and
apples. Of the two latter, most snperior specimens. There
was a fair display of vegetables. Whole number of entries of
fruits and vegetables three hundred and seventy. Entries in
the hall of other articles comprise agricnltural implements,
cutlery, domestic manufactures, fancy articles, &c. In the
ladies' department, among the substantials, I noticed twenty
rag-carpets, twelve pieces of frocking, and numbers of bed-
quilts, counterpanes, &c.

The horses were shown in Main Street, and drew a great
crowd. There were a large number of fine and well-bred
animals exhibited, particularly the two and three-year-old colts,
•which show great improvement in the breed of horses in this
county. The horses on exhibition could not appear to so good
advantage as they would, had they had suitable grounds for
their performance. I would recommend to this, and to all other
agricultural societies in this Commonwealth that have not
grounds, to procure such, and erect suitable buildings, and I
predict such societies will prosper.

I cannot close this report better than to copy from the Green-
field Gazette, which says: " Great credit is due to J. S. Gron-
nell, Esq., the secretary of the society, for the success which
attended the show. Mr. Grennell lias spared no pains or
expense to add interest to it by tlie presence of a large and fine
collection of sheep. It will tend, we hope, to stimulate our
farmers to engage in sheep raising to a greater extent than they
now do ; a branch of stock raising to which many farms in this
.county are well adapted."

Paoli Lathbop.

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 805

BERKSHIRE.

The cattle show and fair and celchratioii of the fiftieth anni-
versary of the Berkshire Agricnltural Society were held on the
3d, 4th, and 5th days of October, in Pittsficld, on the grounds of
the society, and were attended by your delegate the first two
days, agreeably to appointment by the Board.

The sliow grounds and buildings of the society seem so well
adapted to the purposes for wiiich they are designed, as hardly
to admit of improvement. The grounds are quite extensive
and nearly level, except a moderate elevation, on one side,
whicli affords a distinct view of the whole, and on which stand
the buildings, consisting of an exhibition hall, a dining hall,
treasurer's office, <fec., all under the same roof, and a one-story
block, comprising several apartments, which are rented to
victuallers, as a source of revenue to the society. The plain
below affords ample space for the exhibition of stock, stables for
horses, a half-mile course for tiie exhibition of horses, plough-
ing match, and pasturage for stock that may arrive from a dis-
tance before the day of the fair.

On the first day were exhibited the cattle, sheep, swine, and
poultry, the products of the dairy, the fruits and vegetables,
the implements of husbandry, the products of mechanical skill
and industry, and the handiwork of the ladies.

The cattle, three hundred and forty-four in number, bore
favorable testimony to tiie fertility of the soil upon which they
were bred, as well as to the sound judgment and correct taste
of their owners, in breeding, matching and training. Of some
fifty pairs of working oxen on tiie ground, all in fine condition
and well matched, there were twenty pairs at least whose aver-
age weight would not fall short of thirty-six hundred pounds.

The cows and heifers numbered one hundred and one.
Fourteen milch cows and fifteen breeding cows were entered
for premiums, which would form a herd not easy to be sur-
passed. Probably no other society, in the State, has ever ex-
hibited as large a number of cows of equal excellence. These
cows were large and handsome, mostly grade Durham, Devon,
and Ayrshire.

The fat cattle were good, but not numerous.

306 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

There were exhibited sixteen bulls, including bull calves,
thirteen of" which were eiitered for premiums. Several Thorough-
bred Short-horns, and one Devon, were large and beautiful.
They were all, with one exception, noble animals, and attracted
much notice.

Two herds of cattle were upon the ground which would grace
any farm in the State. The heifers and steers were large and
handsome, and showed more of imj)ortcd blood than their
elders.

Two classes of sheep were cxliibited, fine and coarse-wool
sheep, mostly of I\Ierino and Cotswold blood. Several Cots-
wold bucks, ewes, and laml)s attracted, as they deserved, great
attention. One of the bucks weighed two hundred and sixty-
four pounds. The sheep, one hundred and seventy-eight in
number, and swine ninety-four in number, I have never seen
equalled at any show. There was the usual display of poultry
of all kinds, which was very fine.

There was the best display of butter and cheese I have ever
seen at any show. There were thirty-seven entries of butter,
weighing from twenty to fifty pounds each, and fifty cheeses,
the average weight of which was upwards of forty pounds.

There were seventy-seven entries of bread, embracing many
kinds, which, arranged as it was, with several fine specimens of
honey and maple sugar, constituted quite an attractive part of
the show.

Tiie specimens of fruits and flowers were not numerous.
The flowers were fine for the season. The apples and pears
were chiefly of choice varieties, usually large and fair.

The vegetables were abundant, and of mammoth size ; such
as the soil of Berkshire is wont to ])roducc. The specimens of
grain and grass seeds were of the first quality.

The ladies of the society manifested a laudable pride in ex-
hiljiting their splendid specimens of butter, cheese, bread and
other domestic manufactures. Tiie ornamental, as well as the
more useful articles, wrought l)y them with the needle and
otherwise, were in great numbers, and of great beauty and ex-
cellence. Among the articles contributed to the show by the
ladies were several specimens of currant and blackberry wine.

On the second day, the last half of which was quite rainy,
the show of horses and the spading match took place. The

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 307

number of horses was large, embracing many fine animals.
The breeding mares, fourteen in number, with colts ])y their
sides, were by far the most pleasing as well as the most excel-
lent feature of the horse show. It will be conceded that no
county in the State can compete successfully with Berkshire in
rearing cattle, horses, sheep and swine.

The spading match, which I failed to witness, on account of
the rain and mud, was said to have been contested with great
energy. The ground, spaded by each competitor, was sixty-
four square feet of tough sward land, and the work was well
done by three of the men in less than ten minutes. '

Here ended the exercises of the second day, save and except
the very disagreeable one of returning to our lodgings through
a deluge of rain and mud. The exhibition, as far as it was my
fortune to witness it, was one of great excellence. There was
nothing to condemn, but much, very much, to approve and
commend. It was said by those who knew, that this was the
best show they ever had. It should be stated here, that the
recent law of the State, requiring the whole of certain crops,
entered for premium, to be weighed, is quite unpopular in
Berkshire, as its tendency is to cheek competition in such crops.

The ploughing matfeh, the trotting for prizes, and the semi-
centennial celebration came off on the third day, and, as I am
credibly informed, to the entire satisfaction of all interested. I
am informed by a friend that the ploughing match was con-
tested with energy by twenty teams, ten of horses and ten of
oxen ; the work was done in the best manner.

I would not fail here to acknowledge the cordial welcome and
generous hospitality extended to me by the officers and other
gentlemen of the society.

0. C. Felton.

HOUSATONIC.

Owing to the illness of Professor Clark of the Board of
Agriculture, who had been assigned as visitor on the part of
the Board, to the annual exhibition of the Ilousatonic Society,
a meagre report prepared in haste, .aiid at a late day, is all
that can be furnished.

808 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

The exhibition of 18G0 was the iiincteentli in tlie series of
annual exhibitions held under the auspices of the society. The
society after the expei'iment of a two days' fair the year
previous, has gone back to its former practice of holding it
during three days. It has altogether outgrown the two days'
system, and to endeavor to compress its exercises within that
limit, would be like striving to put a growing boy into the
boots he wore a dozen years ago.

The display of stock on the grounds on the first day, especially
the neat stock, was remarkably fine. It is a general remark
among the farmers of ^outh Berkshire, how superior in quality
all kinds of live stock have become within the last ten years.
Stock which took first premiums during the infancy of the
society, would hardly be looked at seriously now-a-days with
a view to the bestowal of premiums.

This is owing very much to the private enterprise of many
wealthy amatenr stock-growers who have come among us, but
also very much to the influence of the agricultural society,
which by the opportunities it presents for mutual comparisons
of the various kinds and grades of stock raised by our people,
and the emulation it incites, cannot but make itself felt and
appreciated in the year-by-year improvement which is mani-
fested.

As to the ladies' department, we can say that we never saw
finer specimens of dairy productions. The butter and cheese
was fully up to the standard which Berkshire County has ever
maintained. In the way of needle-work of all kinds, we are
sorry that we see so little exhibited, and that little of so un-
substantial a character. We do not see as miich of homemade
flannels, rag-carpeting, mittens, and hose, bed-spreads and other
useful products of female handicraft as we could wish. The
days of old-fashioned looms and spinning-wheels have indeed
pretty much gone l)y. We are almost sorry for it, — but the
same enterprise which has banished the implements of yesterday
has introduced the new ones of to-day. Wo could wish, where
either one or the other must be dispensed with, that sewing
machines might be generally preferred by our young ladies,
over piano-fortes. We have not advanced beyond that stage
in human affairs, when lyame industry must look about itself

REPORTS OP DELEGATES. 309

ill vain for something useful to do. New improvements only
create new wants and requirements.

Of the ploughing match on the second day, and the trials of
speed and draught of single and pairs of carriage and work
horses, we need only say, it was fully up to the average of
such exhibitions throughout the State.

The third day was devoted principally to trials of speed of
horses, and attracted a large concourse of people. The weather
throughout was favorable. The receipts into the treasury
exceeded by several hundreds of dollars, the receipts of any
previous year, and the society is every year reducing the debt
which it incurred by purchase of its lands and erection of its
fences and buildings.

The society is in a highly prosperous condition, and nothing
but some unforeseen occurrence can retard its constant growth
and increasing means of usefulness.

Samuel H. Bdshnell.

HOOSAC VALLEY.

By appointment of the Board I attended the exhibition of
the Hoosac Valley Agricultural Society, held at North Adams,
September 18th and 19th.

This was the first exhibition held by this society under their
act of incorporation, and as such may be considered as a satis-
factory commencement. The attendance was good from the
towns connected with the society, and a very commendable
interest manifested in all departments of the show. The
grounds on which they held their exhibition, and which it is
understood it is contemplated to secure to the society, are well
adapted to the purpose. It is a beautiful plat of bottom land,
on the banks of the Hoosac, about three-fourths of a mile from
the village of North Adams, and is admirably adapted to the
purpose.

A good half-mile track for the trial of horses has been con-
structed on the premises, and the other accommodations,
although put up as a temporary arrangement, were well
adapted to the occasion,

39*

310 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

There was a respectal)le ininiber of neat cattle entered for
exhibition, many of which would have attracted attention in
any exhibition in the State. There was the usual show of
sheep and swine, but nothing worthy of especial notice in these
departments.

The products of the dairy were worthy of notice. In the
article of cheese, the samples were of a very superior quality,
fully sustaining the reputation of that part of the State. In
butter the show was decidedly good, and the exhibition of grain
and vegetables of all kinds was highly creditable.

The products of the orchard were very respectable. One
individual presented one hundred and fifty varieties of apples,
many of which were of a superior quality, and many specimens
on exhibition indicated that that locality is particularly well
adapted to some varieties of this fruit.

The show of horses was worthy of particular notice. A
large number of animals were entered, many of which were of
a superior order, and showed good training.

On the whole we would say that we were highly gratified
with the general arrangements of the exhibition, and are
satisfied that although its organization as an incorporated
society met with some oi)position, it was nevertheless a very
judicious movement, and called for by the interests of agricul-
ture in that vicinity. The society is in the hands of efficient
men, who take a deep interest in the subject, and no doubt can
be entertained that the society will take a respectable position
among the agricultural organizations of the State.

Freeman Walker.

NORFOLK.

The undersigned, appointed as delegate of the ^lassachusetts
Board of Agriculture to attend the annual exhibition and show
of the Norfolk County Agricultural Society, has the honor to
report :

That the show was held on the grounds and in the hall of the
society, on the day fixed by law and the following day. The

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 311

occasion seemed to excite the usual degree of interest among
the people of the county. The attendance on the second day
was large.

Tlie show of articles of domestic manufacture was creditable
to tiie ladies of Norfolk County. The exhibition of fruits was
large, especially of pears. The collection of articles of heavy
manufacture was small. The variety and character of vege-
tables, and samples of farm products, was excellent. The per-
vading fear of the cattle disease prevented the general exhibition
of cattle ; but Mr. Austin, of West Roxbury, presented his
importation of Kerry cattle, which was especially interesting.
Mr. E. R. Andrews exhibited an Ayrshire bull ; and there were
a number of the " Jamestown" stock, descended from a cow im-
ported by R, B. Forbes, Esq., in tiie United States ship James-
town, on her return from lier cliaritable mission to Ireland.
These cattle are regarded with much favor.

The collection of horses was good, and the exhibition of
them upon the track was one of the most attractive features of
the occasion. Among other animals, Mr. Shaw's Thorough-
bred stallion, Balrownie, was exhibited and led around the
track by his groom. His perfect development and unblemished
beauty made him for the time the " bright particular star" of
the hour.

The spading match was vigorously contested, and a ploughing
match with horses was well sustained.

The dinner was served in the hall of tlie society ; after which
the annual address was delivered, at the table, by Hon. George
S. Hillard. It was a finely written discourse on the reasons
why a Massachusetts farmer should be contented with his lot,
and is worthy of publication as an exhibition of some of the
finer aspects of agricultural life. Other brief addresses were
made by president Felton, your delegate, and others.

The grounds of the society are not spacious enough for its
purposes, and the separation of the hall from the field enclosing
the track is unfortunate. It is desirable, of course, that all the
operations of the annual exhibitions and shows of our societies
should be carried on within one enclosure, in such a manner as
to be at all times under the immediate inspection and guidance
of the officers.

812 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

As the delegate of this Board, I have to report that the Nor-
folk Society is vigorous and intelligent in its pursuit of agri-
cultural iniprovenicnt, and that its annual exhibition of 18G0
was held in compliance with the letter and spirit of the laws of

the Commonwealth.

George Marston.

PLYMOUTH.

The Plymouth County Agricultural Society is one of the
most wealthy, flourishing, and oldest societies in the State,
having heen incorporated in the year 1819. They have exten-
sive grounds, at Bridgewater ; a large and well arranged hall,
a half-mile track, and all the necessary fixtures, which make it
one of the most desirahle agricultural exhibition grounds in the
State. The fair was held on the 4th and 5th days of October.

I was very cordially welcomed. To the president, Hon.
Charles G. Davis, I am indebted for much kindness, attention
and hospitality. Li no year has the labor of the husbandman
been more richly rewarded, or the general prosperity more
advanced. The season has been a fruitful one. Again has
been fulfilled the divine promise of seed-time and harvest.

The ploughing match being first in the arrangements, I did
not witness, not arriving in season, but was told that it was
spiritedly contested and satisfactorily performed. There were
no cattle exhibited. Owing to the disease which prevailed in
the early part of the season, causing great panic and alarm, and
justly so, it was very properly thought best to exclude cattle
from the fairs in the middle and eastern portions of the State.
A cciUle show without cattle is like a summer without the light
and heat of the sun to invigorate, to cheer, and to gladden.
A very important part of the exhibition is wanting — and
although there is nuich to attract and to interest aside from
this, still the absence of this important feature creates a void
for which there is no substitute. To make up for this defi-
ciency in jiart, there was a large, most beanitiful and attractive
display of imo, horses. The exhibition on the course was of

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 313

great interest and very exciting. There was a good display of
choice poultry. The exhibition of swine was not wliat it should
have been, or what I expected to have seen in this county.

Only a few ordinary sheep were exhibited, for which tliere is
a good reason, there being at this time only 3,215 in the
county — a county which, from my limited knowledge of it, is
better adapted to sheep husbandry than for any other purpose.
If the farmers of this county could be induced to engage in
this pleasant and comparatively less laborious business than
almost any thing done on a farm, I am confident from obser-
vation and an experience of more than thirty years, that they
would find it to pay well — better than any other business.

The display of fruits and vegetables was uncommonly good.
Apples, pears and grapes were in great abundance and perfec-
tion. The variety and quality, as well as size of many of the
specimens, cannot well be surpassed. In the dairy department
the exhibition was of an excellent character, showing progress
in this important branch of agriculture. Particularly I would
mention butter exhibited by the president of the society, made
from cows kept up during the year. Never have I seen any
grass-made butter that was better.

The address of Dr. George B. Loring on the, to all farmers,
deeply interesting subject, " the different breeds of cattle," was
every way worthy of this distinguished gentleman, and was
listened to with marked interest throughout, by an attentive
audience.

The large amount of agricultural implements and mechanical
productions falling under my notice, was in the highest degree
creditable to the county — the skill and ingenuity displayed
evincing progress in this important department of industry.

The ladies' department was well sustained. There was a fine
display of beautiful and elaborate specimens of their handi-
work, which was much admired, and constituted a highly
interesting feature of the occasion. To keep up and increase
the interest in this department, should be a prominent object of
every society, for in proportion as the ladies are interested in
these annual festivals, will be our success.

The exhibition closed with an excellent dinner, speeches, and
singing. Nothing transpired to mar the festivities of the occa-
sion. All was harmony and good feeling, every department

314 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

beiiiij: well sustained, cviiiciiifi' an onward progress, and furnisli-
ing abundant proof of the increasing interest in the improve-
ment of the soil and the cause of agriculture.

Samuel II. Bushnell.

BARNSTABLE.

The Barnstable County Agricultural Fair was held on Tues-
day and Wednesday, the 9th and 10th days of October, governed
by the rules and regulations established according to chapter
6G of the General Statutes of Massachusetts.

Success has become a habit with the officers of the Barnstable
Society in the discharge of their duties. The exhibition in all
the neccssanj crops of the farm and in the abundance of fruits
displayed, was a fit summing up of the evidence of the progress
which has been made in agriculture and its kindred branches.
The number of premiums awarded was 288. For the geograph-
ical boundaries and the character of the soil, (as the water
lines and the surface soil are somewhat changeable,) the writer
begs leave to refer to the latest topographical surveys and to the
work of Professor Hitchcock, " Soils of the Cape." On the
Cape the sea was a more apparent fact to the eye of yoiir dele-
gate than the land. The wind seems to blow from every
quarter. Tuesday, 9th, was mainly devoted to the exhibition
of neat stock and other stock of the farm, farm implements,
farm crops, and household industry. The ploughing match
was attended in the afternoon, and the hearing of an address,
(subject, " Farming with a Reason,") was attended in the
evening. Wednesday was full of promise and realization to
the treasury of the society, and of satisfaction to the great
numbers who visited the exhibition. Never on the Cape has
more sound sense been exhibited in one day, in providing good
cheer for the body and instruction for the mind. From sunrise
to sunset the exhibition hall was crowded with visitors. The
annual address by George S. Hillard, full of reasons " why a
farmer should be contented with his lot," made all the farmers
who heard him very contented — and much more so those who
heard him who were not farmers. The seats in the meeting-

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 315

lioiise were filled during the delivery of the address, and so
■vverc the five hundred seats at the dinner table, set next in
order in the day's proceedings. The dinner was in all respects
creditable to the society, and the speeches characteristic of
those who made them. At six and a half o'clock a bountiful
collation was spread before the members and guests of the
society, at the mansion of S. B, Phinncy, where speeches fol-
lowed as at the dinner, full of satisfaction to all who were
present. The day's work of the officers of the society was, at
eight o'clock, P. M., begun to be wound up in a ball., and fin-
ished by the aid of some five hundred members and friends of
the society, at a reasonably early hour next morning. ^

Dairy Products. — The exhibition of dairy products, especially
of butter, showed that there was good stock kept here, and as
ivell fed as need be. The product of the cross of the Durham
and the Alderney upon the native stock, tells in right direction.

Working O.cen, Horses, Swine. — The farmers here, as else-
where, seem to have become accustomed to the expense of
keeping a stronger force of working cattle and horses than they
actually need. Light weight horses are most commonly used.
The attention already given to the breeding of horses promises
well. The sea air must exercise a favorable influence upon the
swine family — the specimens exhibited were remarkable in all
" their points," or rather symetrically rounded lines. They
were model porkers.

Root Crops. — The potato yields abundantly hereabouts.
The mangold and carrot also thrive with easy culture in this
soil and atmosphere. Among the varieties of potato culti-
vated, the Jackson Whites, (for early) New York Peach Blow,
Nova Scotia, Prince Albert, Davis Seedling, and State of Maine,
grow vigorously, improving in excellence. Sixty-three hundred
and sixty pounds of potatoes from one pound, (three years
planting,) were entered for premium. Seventy varieties of
garden vegetables were exhibited — perfect in their kind, and
showing a nearer appreciation of the true value of this crop
than usually prevails.

Fruit. — There were ten exhibitors of peaches of choice
varieties. One branch from a tree was shown, bearing, in
clusters, within fifteen inches sj)aco, thirty-fwe ripened peaches.
Uncultured pears were shown from a tree which had blossom-

'316 EOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

ed eight times duriii<^ tlie season. The exliil)itioii of pears,
Flemish Beauty and other prized varieties — of apples of many of
the best named varieties — (juinces, large, smooth, plump and
sound — cranberries, (from vines planted in May last,) solid
and fair — and other fruits shown, not only proves that the soil
of JJarnstable is capable of bearing abundant fruit crops, but
that, owing to atmospherical influences, the fruit is fairer, bears
a brighter color, and ripens earlier, than in many other sections
of the State.

Dumeslic 31amifactures. — The premiums paid in tliis class,
upon articles made at the fireside, numbered one hundred and
eight. The character of the articles exhibited, told of the skill,
taste, and industry of their exhibitors.

Grains. — The success recently had in growing wheat in
Barnstable County (the premium crop was thirty-six bushels to
the acre) is encouraging.

Bread and Gingerbread. — The bread shown, made from
wheat, rye, corn, wheat and rye, corn and rye, wheat meslin,
rye meslin, and corn meslin, was deserving of tiie premiums
awarded and thanks besidesw A premium of three dollars for
the best card of gingerbread, and two dollars and one dollar
for the next and the next best, excited the ambition of a score
or more competitors. The premiums were earned many times
over. The four loaves of bread in the cxhiliition, and the
maker, sixteen years old and under, will be remembered by all
who noticed the success of the undertaking.

The farmers of the Cape give evidence in their exhibition of
having formed a habit of yearly adding to their own experience
a knowledge of what is being done elsewhere in advancing the
cause of agriculture — thus giving scope to their ideas and
energies, and stimulating them to bear in due proportion, the
work which they have to do. Why should not facts, drawn
from the science of agriculture, be everywhere received as
guides to action, as well as the facts developed in the sciences
involved in other branches of employment? Sound judgment
will not deny or refuse to consider such facts simply because
they are new to us. It is not for lack of facts that we stumble
along the road to progress, but because so many farmers have
chosen to be " a law unto themselves" rather than to consult
the laws of nature.

JREPORTS OF DELEGATES. 317

This prflctice has led to the jjjciieral confusion of ideas which
prevails. The farmers, therefore, and not well-digested books,
are responsible for the false doctrines believed concerning scien-
tific agriculture.

Let every farmer handle the subject as Isaac Walton did the

frog which he impaled on his hook — "as though he loved it" —

and a better understanding and more harmonious results will

follow.

George M. Atwater.

NANTUCKET.

Having been delegated to attend the fifth annual exhibition
of the Nantucket Agricultural Society, held on the 11th and
12tli of October last, I respectfully submit the following: —

Leaving Boston on the morning of the 10th, I arrived at
Nantucket at lialf-past two, P. M. Through the kindness of
Capt. E. W. Gardner I enjoyed a ride over a considerable por-
tion of the central part of the island, during the afternoon. A
person from tlie " Continent," as the people here term the
main land, is peculiarly, and I may say painfully impressed
upon his first visit to the island. Nantucket has been famous
the world over for her enterprise in the whale fisheries. She
has been the means of bringing the world oilt of darkness into
lii'ht in more senses than one, and it is through no fault of hers
that that light has paled before various substitutes. The har-
vest was limited, and necessity, that prolific mother of inven-
tion, has furnished us with superior and cheaper illuminating
substances in coal gas and kerosene, while the end is not yet.

A few years ago Nantucket, in the height of her prosperity,
fitted out annually about twenty whaling ships. This year she
fits out but five or six. This having been the main interest and
business of the island, the result is to be anticipated. A few
hulks of whale ships lay at her wharves, seemingly for no other
end than to see which shall go to decay the sooner. Store-
houses are tenantless and empty. The enterprise of the
inhabitants has departed. Grass literally grows in her street?.

After the decadence of the whaling business, the Cahfornia
fever broke out, and its influence upon, the island was very

40*

318 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.^

marked. A large number of persons, mainly young men of
enterprise, embarked for the gold region, in the hope of finding
an outlet for their ambitious aspirations. One effect of this
movement is still to be seen on every hand, but especially in
public assemblies, where four out of every five persons are
females.

Under these circumstances the question forces itself upon our
notice, what is to be the future of Nantucket V Is she to go to
decay with the decline of her whaling interest, or is there enter-
prise enough among the inhabitants, and oj)portunities for its
exercise, to render it still a place of thrift and growth ? One
or two manufacturing establishments have been in operation
for a time, but the wealthy men on the island, of whom there
are many, seem to be afraid of investing their capital in any
thing that might be supposed to assist in building up and sus-
taining an active and thriving people. With the loss of their
faith in the success of whaling seems to have departed also their
faith in the success of Nantucket, and they seem unwilling to
invest money in any enterprise on the island, which they con-
demn in advance as promising nothing but failure. As a con-
sequence, the capital of Nantucket seeks employment away from
home.

There are to my mind two prominent sources of prosperity
open to Nantucket in the future. The first, and perhaps the
more important, is that of which mention has just been made,
the employment of capital at home rather than abroad. There
are very many sources of investment which would operate in
bringing money to the island and prosperity to the homes of
the people. Of these it is not my object to speak. The other
is the encouragement of agriculture. Nantucket is by no
means a favored region in an agricultural aspect. A great
portion of the island is covered with a loam extremely sandy.
Indeed, in other parts of the State it would liardly be called
soil at all. This land would not pay for cultivation were it not
for the fact that it may be worked with extreme ease, and also
that kelp and sea-weed are to be had in unlimited quantities for
the bare labor of their manipulation. Through this source of
fertilizing materials a large variety of crops may be grown with
success and profit, some with better results than others. Cran-
berries, above most things, should be tried and encouraged. A

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 319

few experiments seem to indicate that this important crop
would succeed. Strawberries, whortleberries, and blackberries
are eminently worthy of trial. Of this latter berry, I was told
that upwards of three hundred bushels were imported* the past
season. The best use, I believe, to which the area of sandy
soil after all may be applied, is to the growing of wood. Some
five hundred acres have already been planted with pines, and
for the four or five years that they have been growing they are
certainly exceedingly promising. There is no natural wood to
be found upon any part of the island, although Capt. E. W.
Gardner, in excavating for peat, struck some quite large stumps
of trees, indicating that at some former period there must have
been at least a few forest trees of goodly size. This entire
absence of wood makes it necessary to go abroad for that
material for all purposes to which it is applied. There is neither
wood for fences nor stone for walls.

A smaller portion of the island is covered with a soil of a
different character, being composed in part of clay, and here,
it seems to me, is to be found the source of future agricultural
prosperity. That it is capable of the highest and most success-
ful cultivation, a glance at the products exhibited in the hall
affords abundant evidence. Field beets, turnips, and other
roots, as fine as can be raised in the State, adorned the tables.
Onions of the finest quality, were on exhibition, which vrere taken
from a field yielding at the rate of eight hundred bushels to the
acre. Good crops of corn and grain were represented by fine
specimens, and the same quality of land upon which they were
grown has produced the past season three, and even as high as
four, estimated, tons of hay to the acre as a first crop. In the
department of fruits there were quinces, unexcelled, perhaps,
in the world, certainly in my limited experience. Pears, of
large size and fine quality, though most of them wore a russet
coat. The Flemish Beauty, in particular, was completely
covered, in many cases, with a fine russet. The same tendency
was observed in apples, of which I saw very good specimens,
particularly the Rhode Island Greening. The advance made
since attention has been directed to pear culture, may be
appreciated when it is stated that ten or eleven years ago there
were but three pear trees on the island. Unusually fine speci-
mens of Isabella grapes, and good clusters of Diana, were

320 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

plenty, to say nothing of beautiful, large clusters of Black
Hamburg, and other varieties of European grapes, exhibited
by the [)resident of the society and others. There were eighty-
two different contributors of fruits, being a gain since their
first exhibition, in 185t3, of one lumdred and thirty per cent.

Among the noticeable things in the hall was a bottle of water
from the spring which supplied the mother of Benjamin Frank-
lin, during a period anterior to his birth. TJie people of
Nantucket, it may not be generally known, claim a share in the
paternity of tliis remarkable philosopher.

The show of stock, which took place on the 11th, on grounds
owned by the society, indicated that the farmers had not been
asleep upon that sul)ject. The introduction of an Ayrshire
bull, two or tliree years ago, has been the means of perpetuating
some of his fine qualities in the persons of a number of
promising heifers. Of milch cows the show was only ordinary,
the best cows, as I was informed, not being upon the ground.
The Galloway, or hornless breed, were well represented, and
seemed to be valued about as highly as any stock of more recent
introduction, they having been brouglit upon the island in 1825.
Fine sheep, swine and poultry also gave evidence that no depart-
ment of stock was neglected. At two o'clock, P. M., six teams,
three of iiorses and three of oxen, competed in a ploughi]ig
uiatch, but upon soil of such a character that there was nothing
to call into action any special virtue either of team or
j)loughman.

On the 12th, the day was occupied at the grounds, by the
exhibition of horses. Nantucket is not so far from the " con-
tinent," tiiat the horse fever has not had an influence. It lias
manifested itself in a general improvement in the horses, and
created a desire to see something " fast." There was, however,
no set trot, though a plenty of extemporaneous and " scrub"
efforts.

There was no public dinner of the society, or address. The
more particularly social part of the festival was enjoyed in the
exhibition hall during the evenings of both days.

I was much indebted to the various officers of the society for
attentions, and for items of information.

Jauez Fisher.

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 321

MARTHA'S VINEYARD.

According to my appointment as the delegate from the State
Board of Agriculture, I attended the cattle show and fair of
the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society at West Tisbury,
on the 16th and 17th days of October. During the limited
time I remained there, I improved such opportunities as were
in my power to examine the natural and agricultural resources
of the Island, and of comparing its present and past condition ;
such observations being in my judgment of more general benefit
and interest than a bare description of the festival which brings
us together on such occasions.

The Island of Martha's Vineyard (originally called Martin's
Vineyard), was discovered in 1G02 by Bartholomew Gosnold,
and settled in 1642 by Thomas Mayhew, a London merchant of
high standing. It lies about five or six miles from the main
land, and is divided into three townships, Edgartown, Tisbury
and Chilmark ; it is of irregular shape, about twenty-one miles
long, and from five to ten miles wide.

The geological features of the Island are very interesting.
On the western and northern parts the surface is broken,
frequently rising to elevations one hundred and fifty feet above
the level of the ocean, while between these are beautiful valleys
covered with a thick growth of capital pasture grasses, or
producing good crops, with manure and skilful cultivation.
These pastures have a clay formation which becomes deeply cov-
ered with diluvium towards the interior. Immense quantities
of granite, graywacke and sienite boulders lie scattered on the
surface and on the beach, and occasionally in excavations ;
pebbles of quartz, porphery and feldspar are found, all of which
must have been borne from the main land. To the east and
south, stretches a vast plain — occasionally broken by small
valleys, — of diluvium or drift, alight and rather unpromising
soil, covered largely with " the little chincapin " or shrub
oaks and other stunted shrubbery. Mr. Emerson in his valua-
ble work on the Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts, says of this
oak: " The bitterness of the bark shows that it abounds in
tannin, and it might doubtless be advantageously used by the
tanner, as the small branches of most of the oaks are in Europe.
Where this little oak constitutes the principal growth, it might

822 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

easily l)e made to perform an important service. If the seeds
of the pitch pine, the red cedar, the Larch, or some of the
valuable oaks were placed at the right season, an inch or less
beneath the surface of the soil, they would spring up under its
shade and bo protected by it from sun and wind until they
were large enough to need no further protection, after which
it might be grubbed up or left to die gradually in tlie
shade."

I should think that any part of these plains, cut off and
burnt over to destroy the bushes, would yield a handsome crop
of rye every two or three years, perhaps annually ; if this could
be done, the ashes 'and subsequent rotting of the roots would
very much enrich the land. Very handsome rye from a crop
of forty-three bushels to the acre was exhibited, showing what
can be done.

Other portions of the Island where the soil is sandy but free
from stones, might, I am sure, in the want of farm yard manure,
be made to pay good crops by the use of guano and green crops
ploughed under.

There are upon the Island in various places, large beds of
muck, peat, vegetable deposit, salt mud, and swamp mud of
various qualities, all more or less valuable. Large quantities
of kelp, roqk-weed, and sea-weed are thrown upon the beach
at some seasons, which furnish materials for compost. On the
north side of the Island, fish are taken for the same purpose.

There is considerable wood yet upon the Island ; that it was
formerly heavily wooded is attested not only by tradition, but
by remains of submarine forests at Holmes' Hole, and also
on the north shore of the western extremity of the Island.

The land produces good grass, and with manure and cultiva-
tion, cereals and roots may be made profitable.

The poj)ulation is 4,410, or about 130 less than in 1850.
The extent of territory is about 55,000 acres, of which not over
45,000 are available for any use. Of these about 1,400 acres
are annually tilled, about 1,800 are upland mowing, yielding a
little over a ton of hay to the acre. About 703 acres of corn
are planted, averaging 27 bushels to the acre for Chilmark,and
Tisbury, and only 11 for Edgartown. 197 acres are sown to
rye, averaging 7 bushels ; 1G8 acres of oats, averaging 18
bushels ; and 102 acres of potatoes, averaging 163 bushels for

REPORTS OF DELEGATES. 323

Tisbury, 120 for Edgartovvn, and 59 for Chilinark. There were
in 1855 but 1-1 acres of cranberries upon this island so well
calculated for tlieir culture.

In comparing the agricultural resources and productions of
the Island with former years, we find that their 1,820 head of
neat stock from 1845 to 1860 had increased in number, four.
Horses increased from 301 to 400 ; swine decreased from 710
to 367. Sheep went from 11,077 to 9,276 ; and wool decreased
about 20 per cent., which in my opinion is a most unfortunate
mistake. Indian corn has increased 25 per cent. ; rye, 16 per
cent. ; oats, 11 per cent. Of turnips they get 300 bushels to
the acre ; and of carrots, 350 bushels.

The products of the dairy show a material and praiseworthy
increase. In 1845 25,446 pounds of butter and cheese were
made, valued at 4,360 dollars. In 1855 there were 32,369
pounds, valued at 7,600 dollars, showing not only a large
increase of quantity, but a marked improvement in the quality
as shown by the price of butter — 25 cents per pound for what
was in 1845 19 cents per pound ; and 12| cents for cheese
instead of 9 cents. This shows an advance in good farming,
especially as in that time the number of cows had not increased
in any thing like the same proportion.

In the village of "West Tisbury, the society has enclosed
about two and a half acres of land, on which is a two-story
building 70 feet by 50, containing their exhibition hall below,
and above, committee rooms and a dining-hall, all ample and
convenient.

Botli days devoted to the exhibition were bright and pleasant,
and the people began to gather on Tuesday morning with their
products for " the show," and by noon they were arranged.
The neat stock first claimed my attention, and I must say they
were very much better than I had expected to see, and would
have made a creditable appearance in almost any exhibition in
the State. There were seven entries of working oxen ; they
were not tried, but they seemed " handy," and were well
matched. There were six entries of fat cattle, some of them
uncommonly good ;. one yoke of oxen would weigh over 4,000
pounds ; these were all fatted on grass ; indeed the pastures in
Chilmark and the northern side of Tisbury are of a very supe-
rior quality, and cattle get very fat there betwixt May and

324 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

October. Six entries of steers, some very good ; a half dozen
milch cows and three bnlls completed the list. These animals all
looked well ; they were mostly what would be called native
stock, with an occasional dash of other blood from the main
land. I should think the Ayrshires would be a desirable
introduction on the island.

Sheep have been raised on this Island for more than two
hundred years. In 1G53, Capt. Humphrey Atherton obtained
leave from the provincial government to keep sheep on the
Island of j\Iartin's Vineyard. I expected to see large numbers
of this profitable animal, so many years cultivated in this
locality so peculiarly adajited to them, and I was very much
disappointed that more were not shown. Seven entries of
twenty-five sheep were all that appeared on the ground, and
this in a county having 21,000 acres of pasturing, having 9,200
sheep, producing 19,800 pounds of wool, valued at §7,359, —
a county eminently adapted for raising sheep, and where grow-
ing sheep for wool and for market, ought to be a principal olvject.
I almost feared that they had not recovered from that raid of
the Biitish in the revolutionary war, when Lord Gray with his
troops drove off 10,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle.

Those who have sheep or other stock, ought on such occa-
sions to be at some trouble to have them on the ground. It is
an injustices to the active men of the society, to the community,
and to themselves, not to contribute ; and I understood that
many of the best farmers of the Island either staid away
entirely, or came to it empty-handed. It seems to me that
they ought to keep a great many more sheep and of a better
quality. In 1855, (and it won't differ very much now,) they
had 1,350 Merino sheep, which yielded only about two pounds
eleven ounces to the fleece, and 7,781 common or native sheep,
shearir.g two pounds two ounces each, the whole averaging
thirty-six cents per pound. These sheep, when killed, dress
onl)' about forty-eight to sixty pounds; with such pastures and
facilities for kecj)ing sheep, it seems to me they should breed
more positively for either meat or wool. The first would be
gained by introducing the hardy Down sheep, to give size and
perfection of form, and early maturity ; to attain the latter,
careful adherence to correct breeding of the Merino would
accomplish every thing they could wish. The farmers of the

SECRETARY'S REPORT. 325

Vineyard allow their sheep to run in the pastures all winter,
occasionally fcedini? them at their barns, but not enclosing
them ; they say the sheep are fond of the kelp which is thrown
upon the beach.

It does seem to me that there is more need of improvement,
and more profit to bo realized from sheep than any other pro-
duction of Martha's Vineyard. No pure-bred sheep were ex-
hibited— some natives, with a dash of Merino, and a grade Cots-
wold ram. There were some eight entries of swine, very good,
including a pair of " Earl of Sefton and Berkshire " pigs, im-
ported at large expense, by Charles B. Allen, Esq. Arriving
on the day of the fair, after a long passage from Liverpool, they
looked a little hard ; but will, no doubt, greatly improve the
stock of the county, which needs it. Poultry there was none,
except a coop of ducks. In the hall I was disappointed at the
very meagre show of domestic manufactures. I had supposed
the Vineyard ladies would display tlieir handiwork more
extensively.

There was some very superior fruit displayed, of Island growth.
There was a very nice show of bread, butter and cheese,
preserves and pickles ; fine specimens of vegetables and grains.
Some very handsome specimens of wheat ; and I see no reason
why they should not raise good crops of spring wheat. I was
again disappointed in another crop, which sliould be a staple on
the Island : of cranberries, there were but three entries, all
good fruit, too. They ought to be largely grown ; and yet in
1855, there were but fourteen acres on the Island.

The second day opened as brightly as the first, and the
people came early to see the horses and ploughing match,
which last was not. only one team appearing.

There were about twenty entries of horses — some very good
roadsters and family horses. A handsome four-year-old stallion,
and some very fine colts attracted much attention. They have
a class of horses which they call " ftay Headers," tough, hardy
little creatures, about twelve hands high, bred among the
Indians on the "Gay Head" reservation, never seeing any
shelter but the lee side of a barn or rock, from the beginning
to the end of the year.

The exhibition being closed, the members of the society
dined together in the hall. On account of a change of

41*

326 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

time in running the New Bedford boat, I could not attend
it. Both days passed pleasantly, and in all that large, but
orderly assembly, I saw no instance of intoxication or unbe-
coming behavior.

From what I saw and heard, 1 should think the Vineyard far-
mers generally, did not pay sufficient attention to the accumula-
tion and preparation of that indispensable basis of farming —
manure. I must think that it would pay to enclose and feed,
under warm and comfortable sheds, tlieir cattle and sheep,
rather than to allow them to run at large, dropping their
dung about the fields, to waste.

By littering their barnyards with straw, sea-weed, or swamp-
grass, and hauling in a few loads of peat, muck, or swamp-mud,
they- would save all the manure, the liquid, the most valuable,
as well as the solid, and be able largely to increase their crops.

I think, too, if they should feed to their fat cattle, their
milch cows and sheep, a little cotton-seed meal, which they can
easily get from Providence, they would find their account in
the largely increased value of the manure, as well as in the
flesh, milk and wool of their animals. Perhaps if the Vine-
yarders had less other material wealth, and were obliged to
depend entirely on their farms for support, they would farm
more closely ; if the money on hand and at interest, on the
Island, were equally divided among the entire population, each
man, woman and child would receive twenty dollars more than
the population of Franklin County, on a like division of the
money in that county ; and twelve dollars more than those of
Hampshire County under similar circumstances ; and twenty
more than those of Berkshire.

While some of those whom I met were most intelligent and
progressive farmers, they complained that most of their class
pursued the path their fathers trod, distrustful of science, and
slow to venture into any new fields of experiment.

As the delegate of the State Board I was cordially received,
and treated with the greatest kindness and courtesy. For
opportunities to see the Island and for information and civili-
ties, I am under obligation to Charles B. Allen, Esq., Dr.
Peirce, the acting jjrcsident, and to R. L. Pease, Esq., the
learned and accomplished Clerk of the Courts at Edgartown.

James S. Grennell.

APPENDIX.

11

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APPENDIX.

MISCELLANEOUS.

SOCIETIES.

Amount awarded for
Agricultural Imple- ,
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? 2

n

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Number of persons
who received pre-
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Massachusetts,

-

$1,000 00

• -

$225 00

-

-

2

Essex, ....

$20 50

30 00

~

60 00

-

S78 CO

26G

Middlesex,

16 50

-

-

60 00

32 CO

154

Middlesex South, .

19 25

70 00

-

60 00

-

62 57

1S2

Middlesex North, .

-

-

-

60 00

-

34 50

193

Worcester,

28 00

22 00

-

60 00

-

8 00

81

Worcester West,

2 00

30 00

-

60 00

-

53 50

127

Worcester North, .

3 00

50 00

-

75 00

S8 75

109 99

165

Worcester South, .

3 00

35 00

-

75 00

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126

Worcester South East, .

20 00

25 00

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45 00

2 00

69 00

195

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105 00

231

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30 00

1 00

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174

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45 00

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27 50

128

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25 00

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CO 00

93 49

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202

Hampden East,

1 GO

80 00

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56 25

89

Franklin,

4 00

10 00

-

45 00

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74 00

140

Berkshire,

25 00

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260

Ilousatonic, .

17 00

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45 00

20 00

49 50

183

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6 00

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139

Norfolk, ....

21 00

30 00

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47 00

124

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45 00

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GO 00

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149 00

336

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25 00

60 00

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457

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8 00

5 00

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182

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8 00

5 00

CO 00

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29 00

81

Martha's A'iiieyard,

-

30 00

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31 21

121

Totals, .

*240 75

$1,538 00

$30 00

$1,640 00

$128 24

$l,6i3 £0

4,338

APPENDIX.

IX

Names of the Towns and Cities to ivhicli the Premiums and
Gratuities loere disbursed^ and the amount to each.

MASSACHUSETTS.

Barre,

$100 00

Concord,

$100 00

ESSEX.

Andover, .

$10 00

]\Ianchester, N. H.,

$2 00

Beverly,

8 50

Marblehead,

20 25

Boxford,

17 00

Methiien, .

23 00

Bradford,

1 00

Middleton, .

9 25

Brighton,

1 00

Newbury, .

35 00

Byefield,

5 00

Newburyport,

19 00

Danvers,

72 50

North Andover,

62 00

Essex,

12 00

Rowley,

4 00

Gloucester,

4 00

Salem,

105 50

Groveland,

6 00

South Danvers,

. 165 50

Hamilton,

14 00

Swampscott,

5 00

Haverhill,

9 00

Topsfield, .

11 00

Ipswich,

8 00

Wenham, .

2 00

Lawrence,

4 00

West Newbury,

35 00

Lynn,

IG 00
3 50

Worcester, .
Total, .

3 00

Lynnfield,

. $742 25

Manchester,

. 19 25

MIDDLESEX

Acton,
Ashby,

J5 55

Bedford,

4 00 Belmont,

$15 60
14 30

APPENDIX.
MIDDLESEX— Continued.

Billcrica,

Boston,

Cambridge,

Carlisle,

Chelmsford,

Concord,

Dracut,

Franklin,

Groton,

Kingston,

Lexington,

Lincoln,

Littleton,

Lowell,

312 00

Lynn, .

1 00

Marlborougli,

26 00

Peppercll, .

3 50

Saxonville, .

8 80

Sudbury,

201 55

Wayland, .

18 70

West Cambridge,

2 00

Westford, .

5 50

Weston,

5 00

Winchester,

5 20

Woburn,

22 40

Worcester, .

8 10

Total, .

2 00

SI 00
G 75

12 00
(3 CO

11 SO

13 70
5 50
1 00

3 50

4 00
0 00

50
!552G 55

MIDDLESEX SOUTH,

Billerica,
Chelmsford,

Ashland,

$22

50

Sherborn, .

. §2 75

Framingliam,

273

22

Southborough,

. 58 75

HoUiston, .

13

75

Sudbury, .

. 30 50

Ilopkinton,.

4

75

Wayland, .

. 11 25

Marlborough,

13
30

75
50

Other towns.
Total, .

5 00

Natick,

. !5470 72

Newton,

4

00

MIDDLESEX NORTH.

$13 75
59 50

Draeut,
Dunstable,

.154 GO
78.00

APPENDIX.

MIDDLESEX NORTH— Continued.

XI

Lowell,

Tcwksbury,
Tyngsborough,

$166

25

60

25

49

00

Westford,
Total,

$193 00

WORCESTER.

BaiTC,

. $27 00

Southborough, .

. $15 00

Grafton,

. 58 00

Sutton,

. 22 00

Iloklen,

8 00

Uxbridge, .

7 00

Millbury, .

. 1-1 00

Warren,

5 00

New Braintree, .

8 50

Webster, .

6 00

NortliborQugli,

4 00

Westborough,

. 25 00

Oakham,

4 00

West Boylston, .

. 26 00

Princeton, .

7 00
5 00

Worcester, .
Total, .

. 247 00

Rutland, .

. $501 50

Shrewsbury,

. 10 50

AVORCESTER WEST

WORCESTER NORTH.

Ashburnham,
Ashby,

$11 50
13 50

FItchburg,
Gardner,

Athol,

. $9 75

Oakham,

. $20 00

Barre,

. 188 50

Petersham, .

. 18 50

Gardner,

1 00

Phillipston, .

3 00

Ilardwick, .

. 34 00
4 00

Templeton, .
Total, .

75

Hubbardston,

. $281 50

New Braintree, .

2 00

$324 64
50

Xll

APPENDIX.

WORCESTER NORTH— Continued.

Lancaster, .

. $0 50

Sterling,

. 5i 25

Leominster,

. 35 25

Templeton,

25

Littleton, .

6 00
. 23 00

Westminster',
Total, .

. 21 25

Lunenburg,

. Si 14 64

Princeton, .

4 00

WORCESTER SOUTH.

AVORCESTER SOUTH-EAST.

HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND HAMPDEN.

Brimfield, .

. $15 50

Southbridge,

. $69 50

Brookfield, .

. 11 00

Spencer,

3 00

Charlton, .

. 36 75

Sturbridge, .

. 160 75

Dudley,

. 16 00
75

Warren,

Total, .

. 13 50

North Brookfield,

. 6360 25

Oxford,

50

Bellingham,

. $14 50

Northbridge,

. $3 00

Blackstone,

. 19 25

Sherborn, .

2 00

Holliston, .

. 28 25

Upton,

. 11 50

Hopkinton, .

. 3± 25

Uxbridge, .

. 34 75

Medway,

8 00
55 75

Worcester, .
Total, .

3 00

Mendon,

. $103 00

Milford, .

. 188 75

•

Amherst,
Belchertown,

^2 00
5 00

Bernardston,
Chesterfield,

$25 00
7 00

APPENDIX. xiii

HAMPSHIRE, FRANKIN AND HAMPDEN— Continued.

Chlcopee, .

m 00

Shelburne, .

. $59 00

Cumniington,

13 00

South Deerfield, .

8 25

Deerfield, .

25 50

South Hadley, .

. 16 25

Eastliampton,

54 00

Southampton,

. 74 00

Goshen,

5 00

Springfield, .

3 50

Granby,

G 00

Sunderland,

9 00

Greenfield, .

3 00

Wcstfield, .

. 37 00

Hadley,

47 00

Westhanipton,

. 22 00

Hatfield, .

39 00

Whately, .

. 15 50

Huntington,

4 00
1 00

Worthington,
Total, .

6 00

Middlefield,

. $793 75

Northampton,

. 300 75

HAMPSHIRE.

HIGHLAND.

Amherst,

. $147 72

Palmer,

$5 00

Belchertown,

. 30 20

Pelham,

. 54 25

Enfield,

6 00

Plainfield, .

1 38

Granby,

5 00

Shutesbury,

3 00

Greenfield, .

7 50

South Hadley, .

. 10 00

Hadley, .

. 56 21
. 17 20

Sunderland,
Total, .

. 27 71

Leverett,

. $371 92

Northampton,

1 00

Ashfield,

Becket,

Blandfijrd,

$1 00 Chester, .
70 25 Cummington,

5 00

Hinsdale, .

m 25

6 00

46 25

XIV

APPENDIX.
HIGHLAND— Continued.

Huntington,

. ?i 00

Pittsfield, .

. §7 50

Lee, .

50

Washington,

2 00

Middlefield,

. 131 25

AVindsor,

. 14 00

Northampton,

50
1 00

Worthington,
Total, .

. 17 50

Otis, .

. §387 75

Peru, .

. 21 75

H A ^I P D E N .

Agawam, .
Brimfield, .
Chicopee, .
Chicopec Falls,
Holyokc,
Longmeadow,
Ludlow,
Southwick,
Springfield,
Westfield, .
"West Springfield,
Wilbraham,

Maine,
Vermont, .
Massachusetts,
Connecticut,
New York,
Virginia, .

§150 00

100 00

1,167 50

1,126 25

1,345 00

106 00

5,988 75 1

HAMPDEN EAST.

Belchertown,
Brimfield, .
Monson,
Palmer,

§10 00 I Warren,

24 00

70 75

119 25

Wilbraham,

Total, .

§17 50

18 50

§260 00

' County Fair.

t Horse Show.

APPENDIX.
FRANKLIN,

XV

Ashfieia, .

. Zo

00

Heath,

. !$5 00

Bt'rnardston,

. 11

50

Levorett, .

5G

Biickland, .

5

00

Ley den,

. 10 50

Col rain,

9

00

Montague, .

8 25

Conway,

. 12

50

Nortlifield, .

9 00

Deerficld, .

. 31

00

Shelburne, .

. 137 50

Ervinjj,

3

00

Sunderland,

5 00

Gill, .

3
. 103

00
50

Whately, .
Total, .

2 00

Greenfield, .

. §377 31

Adams,
Beoket,
Cheshire,
Dalton,
Egremont, .
Great Barrington,
Hancock, .
Hinsdale, .
Lanesborough,
Lee, . .
Lenox,

BERKSHIRE

§72

9

42

51

13

o

12
14

142
4G

153

00 I New York,

I

00 Peru,

00 i Pittsfield, .

00 ] Richmond, .

00 I Sheffield, .

00 ! Stockbridgc,

00 1 Washington,

I
00 I West Stockbridge,

00
50
50

Williamstown,
Windsor,
Total, .

§100 00

10 00

3G3 00

26 50

IG 50

52 00

5 00

4 00

26 00

24 00

1,188 00

IIOUSATONIC.

Alford,

. §43 00

Lee, .

. §23 00

Egremont, .

. 8G 25

Lenox,

. 22 00

Great Barrington,

. 200 50

Monterey, .

. 36 50

XVI

APPENDIX.
HOUSATONIC— Continued.

^Mount Washington,
North Marlborough,
Pittsfield, .
Richmond, .
Salisbury, •
Sheffield, .

SO 00
11 00
18 00
18 00
2 00
1G3 25

Stockbridge,
Tyringham,
West Stockbridge,
Worcester, .
Total, .

H O O S A C ^^ A L L E Y ,

Adams,

. S^173 50

Pownall,

. $8 50

Cheshire, .

4 00

Savoy,

5 00

Clarksburg,

. 10 50

Stamford, .

9 00

Florida,

. 36 00

Williamstown,

. 73 00

Hinsdale, .

4 00
4 00

Windsor,
Total, .

7 00

Lanesborough, .

. . §334 50

NORFOLK.

Boston,

. $12 00

Needham, .

$54 50

Bi'ookline, .

6 00

Randolph, .

2 00

Canton,

. 10 00

Roxbury, .

25 00

Dedliam,

. 134 00

Sharon,

15 50

Dorchester,

. G7 00

Stoughton, .

42 00

Dover,

. 57 00

Walpole, .

8 00

Foxborough,

. 40 00

West Roxbury,

35 00

Franklin, .

8 00

Weymouth,

2 00

Medfield, .

. 21 00
. 20 00

Wrentham, .
Total, .

12 00

Medway, .

$629 00

Milton,

. 37 00

APPENDIX.
BRISTOL.

xvii

Acushnet, .

U 00

New Bedford,

$10 50

Attleborough,

21 50

Norton,

72 75

Berkley,

32 00

Raynham, .

180 00

Dartmouth,

1 50

Rehoboth, .

16 75

Dighton,

11 25

Seekonk, .

14 75

Eaaton,

9 75

Somerset, .

5 75

Fairhaven, .

2 00

Swanzey, .

50

Fall River, .

6 00

Taunton,

492 45

Halifax,

50

. 27 75

Worcester, .
Total, .

6 00

Mansfield, .

$915 70

PLYMOUTH.

Abington, .

$8 50

Mattapoisett,

W 75

Bridge water.

231 50

Middleborough, .

56 00

Boston,

20 00

North Bridgewater, .

92 00

Carver,

11 75

Pembroke, .

3 25

Duxbury, .

12 87

Plymouth, .

65 00

East Bridgewater,

137 62

Plympton, .

7 25

Halifax,

18 00

Rochester, .

2 25

Hanover, .

6 00

Wareham, .

1 50

Hanson,

2 37
62

West Bridgewater,
Total, .

85 00

Hingham, .

$798 10

Kingston, .

10 37

Lakeville, .

. 25 50

XVlll

APPENDIX.

BARNSTABLE

Nantucket,

Barnstable, .

$418 73

Harwich, .

. $2 62

Brewster, .

9 25

Orleans,

. 10 50

Chatham, .

5 50

Sandwich, .

. 24 87

Dennis,

3 00

Unknown, .

. 12 25

Eastham,

4 GO
7 12

Yarmouth, .
Total, .

. 43 87

Falmouth, .

. 3541 71

NANTUCKET

$295 73

MARTHA'S VINEYARD

Chilmark, .
Edgar town,

. 155 12 Tisbury,
. 16 20 Total,

SI 05 64

^176 96

ABSTRACT OF RETURNS

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES

Ivr^SS^OHUSETTS,

18 6 0.

EDITED BY

CHARLES L. FLINT,

SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTORE.

BOSTON:

WILLIAM WHITE, PRINTER TO THE STATE.
1861.

OFFICERS OF THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES,
18 61.

MASSACHUSETTS.

President— GEORGE W. LYMAN, of Boston.
Secretary— FETER C. BROOKS, Jr., of Boston.

President— ALLE^ W. DODGE, of Hamilton.
Secretory— CHARLES P. PRESTON, of Danvers.

MIDDLESEX.

Presirfen^— GEORGE O. BRASTOW, of Soraerville.
Secretary— JOHN B. MOORE, of Concord.

MIDDLESEX SOUTH.

President— ELIAS GROUT, of Ashland,
feretory— JAMES W. BROWN, of Framingham.

MIDDLESEX NORTH.

President— ELIJAR M. REED, of Tewksbury.
Secretory/— GEORGE STEVENS, of Lowell.

WOUCESTER.

President— WILLIAM S. LINCOLN, of Worcester.
Secretory— JOHN D. WASHBURN, of Worcester.

WORCESTER WEST.

President— WILLIAM MIXTER, of Hardwick. ^
Secretory— CHARLES BRIMBLECOM, of Barre.

WORCESTER NORTH.

President— TB.OU AS BILLINGS, of Lunenburg.
Secretory— WILLIAM G. WYMAN, of Fitchburg.

WORCESTER SOUTH.

President— CALYm P. FISKE, of Sturbridge.
Secretary— S. H. HOBBS, of Sturbridge.

WORCESTER SOUTH-EAST.

President— AARO:^ C. MAYHEW, of Milford.
Secretory— JOHN GEORGE METCALF, of Mendon.

HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND HAMPDEN.

President— T. G. HUNTINGTON, of Hadley.
Secretary— U. K. STARKWEATHER, of Northampton.

iv OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETIES.

HAMPSHIRE.

President— WILLI AU S. CLARK, of Amherst.
Secretary— A. P. HOWE, of Amherst.

HIGHLAND.

President— GEOTIGE H. HUNTINGTON, of Becket.
Secretary— JONATHAN McELWAIN, Jr., of Middlefield.

HAMPDEN.

President— CHESTER W. CHAPIN, of Springfield.
Secretary — J. N. BAGG, of West Springfield.

HAMPDEN EAST.

President— JO SETH RAMSDELL, of Warren.
Secretary— GEORGE ROBINSON, of Palmer.

FRANKLIN.

President— HENRY W. CLAPP, of Greenfield.
Secretary- JAMES S. GRENNELL, of Greenfield.

BERKSHIRE.

President— ENSmN H. KELLOGG, of PIttsfield.
Secretary— THOMAS COLT, of Pittsfield.

HOUSATONIC.

President— WILBER C. LANGDON, of INIonterey.
Secretary— SAMUEL B. SUMNER, of Great Barrington.

HOOSAC VALLEY.

President— J OSEFH WHITE, of Williamstown.
decretory— WILLIAM W. GALLUP, of North Adams.

NORFOLK.

PresiWen/— MARSHALL P. WILDER, of Dorchester.
Secretary— HENRY O. HILDRETH, of Dedham.

BRISTOL.

President— JOHN DAGGETT, of Attleborough.
Secretary — L. T. TALBOT, of Taunton.

PLYMOUTH.

President— CHARLES G. DAVIS, of Plymouth.
Secrete?-?/— VAN R. SWIFT, of Bridgewater.

BARNSTABLE.

Presjrfen^— GEORGE MARSTON, of Barnstable.
Secretary— S. B. PHINNEY, of Barnstable.

NANTUCKET.

PresiWen<— JAMES THOMPSON, of Nantucket.
Secretary— JAMES M. BUNKER, of Nantucket.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD.

Presirfe/i/— HENRY L. WHITING, of West Tisbury.
Secretary— JOHN PIERCE, of Edgartown.

AGRICULTURE OF MASSACHUSETTS.

AGRICULTURE AN ART.

From an Address before the Essex Agricultural Society.

BY JOnX L. UUSSELL.

The cultivation of the earth is of three kinds — the tradi
tional, the artistic, and the scientific. Tlie first employs all the
most approved methods which have been known from the earliest
days of farming in a country, and carries with it errors and
prejudices. Myths and fables do not belong exclusively to
ancient religions, but occur equally in old fashioned customs.
There is the mythical and fabulous in agriculture as well as in
antiquity, properly so called. In certain parts of every country
the old fashioned customs still are to be found, and the farmer's
occupation comes in largely for its share. The plough, the
hoe, the scythe, the kinds of grain sown, the mode of manuring
the land, the incorrect inferences about the modes of working
it, the average crops from year to year, all exhibit the myths of
olden customs. The internal arrangement of the household,
the style of the dairy rooms, the surroundings of the dwelling,
the aspect of things about the farm, mark the reign of an age
which ought to have passed away. Even the private habits of
some farmers, — their social and civil relations, show how little
agricultural fairs and exhibitions have done for them. Converse
with such men and women, and you will find them full of wise
saws and signs, and superstitions ; but take no note of the " signs
of the times " in which they live. TIio traditional cultivation of
the earth leaves the farm less valuable from generation to gen-
eration, until at last emigration to more fertile and virgin soils
is the final resort.
1

2 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Agriculture can be pursued, however, as an art, and hold its
rank among the most honorable labors of mankind. We honor
the artisan who builds nobly and well, — who rears the palace,
the capitol, the sacred fane. The names of such men live long
after their marvellous works have been touched rudely by the
finger of time. It will be equally so with the artist of agricul-
ture, who designs and executes from the rude area of a given
piece of earth some fertile and smiling homestead, to bear to
distant generations his prospective wisdom. Man rises from the
lowest to the highest grade of social life as his mind craves, and
seeks, and finds its needs. In no pursuit else do we see this so
plainly as in agriculture. The most ignorant, careless and
improvident condition is that of the savage. Except in form
and cunning, the savage man is no higher than the brute he
pursues for excitement or for food. The cravings of hunger
prompt him to periodical exertion, and the wild fruits and the
game are his food. The selection of certain kinds of seeds and
fruits opens the way to their increase, and when he selects such
to commit them to the ground, waiting for their seeds in turn, he
enters the barbarous age. But he must be likewise on the search
for other means of subsistence while the seeds are vegetating
and the fruits are coming to perfection ; and this induces the
nomadic habits, such as the Indian of our country is, and such
as the earlier shepherd-tribes were. To this condition of man
we owe the undoubted origin of many of our most valuable ani-
mals and cultivated plants ; and the Indian corn, the pumpkin,
water-melon, beans, squash, all lay us under obligation to those
nomadic tribes which were found here when the earliest mis-
sionaries visited these shores, previous to the colonies established
by our ancestry. *

The barbarous age in agriculture still lingers, and the mythi-
cal or traditional, to which I alluded, is no more than its highest
form and extremest development. It prompts the idle and the
unthrifty to emigrate from ^their homes to the Far West, in
hopes to find in its virgin soils some excuse for negligence and
untbrift. But it carries with it its own ruin, and impoverishes
in turn, by exhaustion, the most fertile natural portions of the
earth's surface, be it the alluvial soils and green mountains of
Vermont, or the broad i)rairies of Kansas ! The industry, per-
severance and art, which are essential to successful cultivation,

AGRICULTURE AN ART. 3

with us bring their own reward. It has been long noticed that
the physical, moral and intellectual conditions of a people
depend on climatic characters ; and the harder the soil and
more obstinate the earth, the freer and more developed the race
which subdues it. The circumstances which develop intelli-
gence, enable intelligence in turn to develop the utmost possi-
bilities ; and when man emerges from barbarism, which only-
feeds and clothes his body, into civilization, he rises to the fine
arts, whether in the primeval occupation of agriculture, or in
those more assthetical pursuits by which he builds finely and
conceives and executes works of beauty and wonder which will
for centuries endure.

Agriculture, considered in the light of an art, is no longer
the confined and selfish consideration of how to feed and clothe
a family or the dwellers on a given area of the farm; mere labor
of the most uncultivated kind can do as much ; rather than this
little and narrow view, it becomes a branch of national industry,
and maintains relations to the prosperity of a country. The
object is now to make the most returns from the outlay ; to enable
the land from year to year to yield five-fold and ten-fold ; to
swell the aggregate sum of a state's productive resources ; to
invite capital to invest in its speculations ; to convert sterility
into fruitfulness ; to anticipate exigencies for future time ; to
leave the world better than it was found, and restore to the
primal paradise the portions cursed by the ignorance and selfish-
ness of man. You are familiar, gentlemen, with the name of
Downing, who is considered in this country what Paxton is in
England ; men estimate him not so much by his knowledge and
descriptions of fruits and fruit trees, as by his endeavors to
introduce correct ideas of landscape gardening — of the con-
struction of elegant and commodious dwellings, and of a higher
style of life in the pursuit of horticulture ; to wdiich science he
was devoted. The art of agriculture docs in the grander
modes what landscape gardening does in the narrower ; and
there can be no reason why the most ordinary farm in Essex
County should not borrow something from a higher style, to
improve it and enhance its value.

The time may be distant when in this country we shall be
obliged to cultivate as carefully and scrupulously as is needful
in older and more thickly settled countries, yet there can be no

4 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

excuse for neglecting to obtain the greatest advantages from
agriculture which lie in our power. I remember hearing an
educated man, who managed a farm, many years ago, say that
he built liim a new, fine barn, with many improvements, which
at that time and place were considered merely whims and
crotchets, because he could not afford to build a cheaper and
meaner one, and his old one w^ould not serve his purpose any
longer ; but I did not tiien catch tlie idea of the true economy
which he had anticipated in the change. So agriculture as an
art, holding its place high among other arts of civilized life,
may not commend itself at once to every one, yet such fairs and
annual exhibitions as this, attest to the increasing favor the
idea is receiving in the community. AVe discover in the laws
which govern the material world, that the circle and the spire
pervade all developing objects. The same order which heaves
planet and satellite around the central sun, arranges the growth
of the stem and the position of the leaves of the smallest or most
gigantic plant. The track whicli man progressively follows in
his changes from epochs and seasons of development, brings
him back to some starting point in his course. The garden in
the sacred Scriptures is spoken of as man's first residence, and
it is the garden which is his last and highest effort in civilized
life. The farm can be a garden full of all manner of trees and
herbs good for food and pleasure. Your most productive farm-
ing operations cease to wear the aspect of what would have been
the case not many years ago.

A well laid out and carefully cultivated garden ranks among
the highest efforts of artistical skill. In it the useful, orna-
mental and essential all combine. In one department may be
found the forest trees, in another the fruit trees, another the
kitchen stuffs, another herbs and perhaps flowers. Every
superfluous jjlant is there an unsightly weed, and is carefully
extirpated. The first settlers in a new country find the forests
usurping the soil. They must be removed to allow the sun's
rays to reach the earth. To destroy is the first of the circle,
but ere it ends, harmoniously to re-produce will be essential.
An agricultural district, pursuing the art of husbandry, takes
as much care to preserve a due balance of relations as does the
most skilful gardener. It may be found essential to plant again
the very products the axe a century before was brought into

AGRICULTURE AN ART. 5

play to destroy. Nicety of operation in sowing, weeding, study-
ing the character of the soil, adaptation of this or that manure
to this or that field, will pay as well as the same means in the
garden. We see this in what is called market gardening ; and
the most ready returns are from such farms as pursue the
course which improved husbandry recommends.

But no art can successfully be pursued without a science to
aid and assist ; to prompt the labor and to point out the course.
Hence arises science of agriculture, which has enlisted the
labors of a Davy, Humboldt, Liebig, and many other illustrious
names in Europe beside. It were hardly to be expected in a
country like ours, so young, (and yet so old,) but with so many
vocations open to its inhabitants, seemingly more honorable,
and easier of pursuit than agriculture, (but alas ! too often the
reverse,) that the same careful solicitude for its advancement
should have yet arisen here as abroad. The foresight and pros-
pective wisdom of our greatest and most distinguished patriots
have strongly recommended some action in our institutions of
learning towards the enlightened pursuit of agriculture. But
the precise method of inducing the study of farming as other
studies are sought, is a difficult question to solve, and may not
be easily pointed out. I do not pretend to offer you, gentlemen,
any plan of my own, from ignorance of what has been done, and
from inability to devise such. Yet it appears to me evident that
the first obstacle in our way is the too common idea that other
pursuits are more honorable than that of the cultivation of the
soil. There perhaps is a good deal, too, in the remark that the
highest kinds of agriculture are expensive and will not pay ;
and that artistic and scientific farming will do well enough for
the capitalist, who can afford to lose money if needful. I think
the root of this mistake lies deeper than this surface view.
Agricultural schools and colleges may be well enough, but they
seem to me to have objectionable features. I have found among
our academies and high schools, for instance, where there is any
unusual amount of apparatus, that there generally is the most
ignorance of the science it is intended to illustrate.

The universal eagerness for office affects every branch of our
social industry. The consequence is apt to be the appoint-
ment of incompetent teachers and professors ; and the very
richness and abundance of the apparatus of the establishment

6 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

might affect injuriously the actual practical knowledge which is
sought. The State of Massachusetts provides most generously
four' Normal Schools in which both sexes are taught " how to
teach." From these seminaries issue from year to year intelli-
gent young men and young women, the majority of whom go
into our agricultural towns, and are employed in teaching the
rudiments of an English education. Others assume important
stations in schools of higher grade elsewhere. The Board of
Education appropriates sums of money for familiar lectures on
chemistry and other sciences. I have authority for saying, that
it is its wish that the relation of the vegetable economy to agri-
culture should be taught those who are to teach again. I look
with much expectation to the future for the diffusion of better
ideas on this subject through our common schools. Much of
my correspondence with friends who are teachers, shows the
tendency of the public mind in this direction. We should then
insist on studies among primary schools connected with the
science of agriculture. • At its very basis lies the science of
botany. No science else so refined, elegant, elevating to the
mind ; none so delicately suited to the feminine tastes. There
is no reason why every boy and girl should not know about the
very weeds, which look into their school-house door, as much as
about the multiplication table. Is not the structure, composi-
tion, uses, economical and artistical, of the wood that is consumed
in the stove, as worthy an hour's lesson as that of the rivers of
countries scarcely trodden by man ? In some towns the areas
of school-houses are set with flowers and ornamental trees ;
this is well, provided the arrangement does not abridge the
play-ground for athletic and health-inducing sports.

]>ut the science of botany needs no such botanical gardens for
its apparatus ; every dry reed-stalk left by the winter winds,
every little weed, every green moss, are book and lesson and
apparatus, to a mind hcaltliy and properly instructed how to
instruct. You will allow me to iirge this point on your atten-
tion, gentlemen, for many of you are members of school com-
mittees I do not doubt. Would you wish to induce your sons to
settle down near the old family hearth and pursue the noble labor
of the farm, do all you can to make the farm the most attractive.
See that the teachers you employ can teach something that is
connected with the business you love and which you wish

AGRICULTURE AN ART. 7

should be developed and elevated. It is a common law that
every need has some supply near at hand ; create that need
and the supply will follow. What money and pecuniaiy offers
fail to effect, however liberal you may be in that direction,
taste and conviction arising from education will do. Adorn
your dwellings with flowers, and encourage your children to
cultivate them. Many a useful, natural bent in the young has
been lost by injudicious and thoughtless levity. Believe that
an hour is not lost which your wife, or your daughter, or your
son spends in the garden, among the flowers which they have
learned to love. Labor is relieved of half its toil when smiled
upon by the elegancies of life. I have been no heedless witness
of these facts, and the most industrious hands and the most
loving and motherly hearts have I found among those who cul-
tivated the tulip bed or nourished the rose bu^i in some corner
of the farm yard, amidst discouragements which would have
appalled the sterner sex had they been suffered to exist where
the corn and the potato patch stood.

" The farmer's garden," says Elihii Burrit, " is the introduc-
tion to a large volume, of whicli every acre is a page, bearing
the marks of his character. Viewed in this light, the gardens
of New England are full of liopeful and instructive reading to
those who consult their chronicles. They show that science,
taste and successful industry have been brought to bear upon
agriculture. They mark the degree of mental culture and
refinement to which the farmers of the country have attained."
Let our common school teachers, I repeat, understand that
they are expected to communicate such knowledge or go with-
out employment, and my word for it, you will find them all apt
and fit for the task. In this town, close by, stands a noble
monument of gratitude to and love of the birthplace of one,
who went from you a boy and returned to an ovation such as
is seldom granted to what the world calls great men. Beneath
its roof stand volumes of wisdom, science, art, freely offered to
every citizen. Not far off is its duplicate library, in which are
choice books, and which I have been generously invited to con-
sult. Its lecture room affords easy facilities to any one to
listen to the eloquence or to quaff from the fountains of knowl-
edge, which the lyceura lecturer offers you. We admire such
generosity, such thoughtful care for the rising generation.

8 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

But is it too much to expect that what George Peabody has
done for liis native town, others may do iu some other way for
theirs, and that an enhghtcned agriculture may lay the founda-
tion of a similar rural fortune to the village where it is
pursued ?

If agriculture as a science is to become the great national
enterprise of a free people, can we who encourage and foster it
by agricultural fairs, exhibitions of stock and produce, by our
libraries and premiums, do too much in our means of primary
education to advance it? Set out well and carefully the young
tree, and you need not fear that under ordinary circumstances,
you will be disappointed in the fruits. Elevate your calling,
gentlemen, and you open avenues of usefulness and wealth,
surer and as honorable as commerce or mercantile pursuits.
The science, which prompts your labors and which induces
your children to love the old homestead so well that they will
not leave it for the uncertain gain of other trades, will not nec-
essarily involve you in expensive habits or ruinous enterprises.
The reason why we see such is not from the science, but from
its want. In all pursuits there is necessarily much pretence,
yet that does not prevent the pursuit of the real and substan-
tial. True science is accurate, patient and rewarding ; empiri-
cism is pretentious and false. Every evil has its remedy, and
if not in our generation yet in one to come, and for which we
should labor in our day, will be enlisted in your noble calling
the very highest and surest names in those departments of
knowledge and inquiry, which are connected with the cultiva-
tion of the earth.

I suggested, in the early part of my remarks, that the eye
was through the hand, the great minister to the supply of use-
ful knowledge and practical wisdom. Clearly then, it was
intended in such a beneficent gift, that we were expected to
observe. This duty of seeing, of observing, devolves upon the
farmer in the most minute particulars of his calling. How
quick your eye detects the symptoms of disease in your stock;
and how much is done by practice. Deficiency of points in
your hoi-se you will notice, which might escape others. The
same holds good in the minutia? of your crops, and the most
careful criticism is worthy your care. On such observation,
constant, daily, perpetual, the most ordinary and the most

AGRICULTURE AN ART., 9

extensive labors of science depend. Many entertain the idea
that the study of tlie natural sciences ought to find the cure,
remedy, preventive to every injury occurring from bird, insect,
or vegetable depredator. "What, it is asked, is the use of ento-
mology, if you naturalists cannot tell us how to drive away the
canker worm, striped bug, caterpillar ? Such an ol)jection
is, however, not worthy a generous mind. The same would lie
against all the learned professions, as they are called, if pressed
to the ultimate limit.

Tiic diflfercnce between observation and patient inquiry on
the part of the farmer and a refusal to see and observe, is that
between ignorance and inquiry — darkness and illumination.
Would he be considered wise who should refuse a laiitern in a
dark night, because it were not a lighted gas jet or the sun ?
A natural inclination or an early taste for such observation
cannot be too much commended. Tiie onion crop has severely
suffered from an offensive larva, whose habits are worth noting
from year to year. The remedy against it has not yet been
discovered — perhaps it never will ; it is better to know your
foe and its capabilities to miscliief than to persevere in the
culture of tliat root crop against so many disadvantages. I
should hardly hope to prophecy a future exemption from any
application or from any new variety of the plant, after what
has been tried by so many farmers. The habits of insects are
mysterious as yet, and we can only hope to profit by eternnl
vigilance. It seems significant to me, however, that the fly
belongs, apparently, to the scatophagous tribes, which nestle
and deposit their eggs in particular kinds of manures especially.
Total abandonment of this vegetable as field crop for a series
of years, may, by depriving each generation of the proper nidus
for its larva, cause its extermination ; and though we may
mourn when we think of the " leeks of Egypt," our children
may enjoy by our abstinence greater advantages when the root
can be cultivated again with success.

It is too common, in absence of other knowledge, to infer
that what is known abroad of similar facts, is identical with
what we desire to know at home. But I think it may be con-
cluded that every cultivated country has its own peculiar disor-
ders, diseases and parasitical complaints. I would speak more
particularly of plants, which are more familiar to me ; and
2

10 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

avor tliat many of the most insidious kinds of mildews, blights,
brands and smuts, arc structurally and typically our own. The
naturalist who would investigate these may find them only
analogous to foreign species, and from atmosj)herical conditions
requiring different treatment. We need then, an American
system of science, based upon American facts in nature.

Our culture too should be American, suited to our soils,
climate, productions, to ovr fruits, grains, seeds, roots. I
would by no means discourage experiments with approved for-
eign kinds, yet such experiments should be not hastily or widely
adopted. Mr. David Landreth, an experienced seedsman,
finind among fifty-two specimens of turnips raised from seed
imported by him, but two varieties worthy of perpetuation. In
the subject of grass seeds, too, the knowledge of the actual
species can only prevent disappointment in sections where they
arc u-nfitted to the soil or latitude. Mr. Ives has shown in your
" Transactions" how coincident with the soils are the varieties
of apples and pears ; what English kinds succeed, to what
extent American varieties can be distributed through these
United States. The potato rot presents a similar aspect, and
in vain were the journals of Europe searched for the cause.
Even the fungi described by the mycologists abroad did not
occur on our own, and this insidious destroyer has baffled the
most careful experiments to detect the reason of its presence.
Is it a waste of time and study which has hitherto been
expended to find the cause and remedy? Then equally waste-
ful the patient hours of the kind and generous physician, who
has sought in vain for the reason and cure of ])ulmonary dis-
ease, or who has risked his own life to detect the seeds and
germs of the cholera, which affrights and devastates nations.
Equally so is the rot in the grape, which by the western vine-
grower has been thought identical. But agriculture with its
science must not borrow from abroad ; it must build schools of
American science, observation and research. Its soils are to
bo analyzed by its own chemists, its plants which grow upon
them analyzed and specified by its own botanists, and the fields
that are to be reaped should be sown with its own seeds. Is it
too much to expect that from resources as great naturally as
arc to be found elsewhere, products as mighty and great can
accrue ?

SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES. 11

SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES.

From an Address before the Middlesex Agricultural Society.

RY JIKNUY D. THOREAU.

I have often been asked, as many of you have been, if I could
tell how it happened, that when a pine wood was cut down, an
oak one commonly sprang up, and vice versa. To which I have
answered, and now answer, that I can tell — that it is no mys-
tery to me. As I am not aware that this has been clearly shown
by any one, I shall lay the more stress on this point. Let me
lead you back into your wood-Io*^s again.

When, hereabouts, a single forest tree or a forest springs up
naturally where none of its kind grew before, I do not hesitate
to say, thougii in some quarters still it may sound paradoxical,
that it came from a seed. Of the various ways by which trees
are knoivn to be propagated — by transplanting, cuttings, and the
like — this is the only supposable one under these circumstances.
No such tree has ever been known to spring from any thing else.
If any one asserts that it sprang from something else, or from
nothing, the burden of proof lies with him.

It remains, then, only to show how the seed is transported
from where it grows to where it is planted. This is done chiefly
by the agency of the wind, water and animals. The lighter
seeds, as those of pines and maples, are transported chiefly by
wind and water ; the heavier, as acorns and nuts, by animals.

In all the pines, a very thin membrane, in appearance much
like an insect's wing, grows over and around the seed, and in-
dependent of it, while the latter is being developed within its
base. Indeed this is often perfectly developed, though the seed
is abortive, nature being, you would say, more sure to provide
the means of transporting the seed, than to provide the seed to
be transported. In other words, a beautiful thin sack is woven
around the seed, with a handle to it such as the wind can take

12 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

hold of, and it is then committed to the wind, expressly that it
may transport the seed and extend the range of the species ;
and this it does as elTectually as when seeds are sent by mail in
a different kind of sack from the patent office. There is a
patent office at the seat of government of the universe, whose
managers are as much interested in the dispersion of seeds as any
body at Washington can be, land their operations are infinitely
more extensive and regular.

There is, then, no necessity for supposing that the pines have
sprung up from nothing, and I am aware that I am not at all
peculiar in asserting that they come from seeds, though the
mode of their propagation by nature has been but little attended
to. They are very extensively raised from the seed in Europe,
and are beginning to be here.

When you cut down an oak wood, a pine wood will not at
once spring up there unless there are, or have been, quite re-
cently, seed-bearing pines near enough for the seeds to be blown
from them. But, adjacent to a forest of pines, if you prevent
other crops from growing there, you will surely have an exten-
sion of your pine forest, provided the soil is suitable.

As for the heavy seeds and nuts which are not furnished with
wings, the notion is still a very common one that, when the
trees which bear these spring up where none of their kind were
noticed before, they have come from seeds or other principles
spontaneously generated there in an unusual manner, or which
have lain dormant in the soil for centuries, or perhaps been
called into activity by the heat of a burning. I do not believe
these assertions, and I will state some of the ways in which,
according to my observation, such forests are planted and raised.

Every one of these seeds, too, will be found to be winged or
legged in another fashion. Surely, it is not wonderful that
cherry trees of all kinds are widely dispersed, since their fruit
is well known to be the favorite food of various birds. Many
kinds are called bird-cherries, and they appropriate many
more kinds, which are not so called. Eating cherries is a bird-
like employment, and unless we disperse the seeds occasionally,
as they do, I shall think that the birds have the best right to
them. See how artfully the seed of a cherry is placed in order
that a bird may be com])clled to transport it — in the very midst
of a tempting pericarp, so that the creature that would devour

SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES. 13

this must commonly take the stone also into its mouth or bill.
If you ever ate a cherry, and did not make two bites of it, you
must have perceived it — right in the centre of the luscious
morsel, a large earthy residuum left on the tongue. We thus
take into our mouths cherry stones as big as pease, a dozen at
once, for Nature can persuade us to do almost any thing when
she would compass her ends. Some wild men and children
instinctively swallow these, as the birds do when in a hurry,
it being the shortest way to get rid of them. Thus, though
these seeds are not provided with vegetable wings. Nature has
impelled the thrush tribe to take them into their bills and fly
away with them, and they are winged in another sense, and
more effectually than the seeds of pines, for these are carried
even against the wind. The consequence is, that cherry trees
grow not only here but there. The same is true of a great
many other seeds.

But to come to the observation which suggested these re-
marks. As I have said, I suspect that I can throw some light
on the fact, that when hereabouts a dense pine wood is cut
down, oaks and other hard woods may at once take its place.
I have got only to show that the acorns and nuts, provided they
are grown in the neighborhood, are regularly planted in such
woods ; for I assert that if an oak tree has not grown within
ten miles, and man has not carried acorns thither, then an oak
wood will not spring up at once when a pine wood is cut down.

Apparently, there were only pines there before. They are
cut off, and after a year or two you see oaks and other hard
woods springing up there, with scarcely a pine amid them, and
the wonder commonly is how the seed could have lain in the
ground so long without decaying. But the truth is, that it has
not lain in the ground so long, but is regularly planted each
year by various quadrupeds and birds.

In this neighborhood, where oaks and pines are about equally
dispersed, if you look through the thickest pine wood, even the
seemingly unmixed pitch-pine ones, you will commonly detect
many little oaks, birches, and other hard woods, sprung from
seeds carried into iHie thicket by squirrels and other animals,
and also blown thither, but which are overshadowed and choked
by the jjincs. The denser the evergreen wood, the more likely
it is to be well planted with these seeds, because the planters

14 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

incline to resort with their forage to the closest covert. They
also carry it into birch and other woods. This planting is car-
ried on annually, and the oldest seedlings annually die ; but
when the pines are cleared off, the oaks, having got just the
start they want, and now secured favorable conditions, imme-
diately spring up to trees.

The shade of a dense pine wood is more unfavorable to 'the
springing up of pines of the same species than of oaks within
it, though the former may come up abundantly when the pines
are cut, if there chance to be sound seed in the ground.

But when you cut off a lot of hard wood, very often the little
pines mixed with it have a similar start, for the squirrels have
carried off the nuts to the pines, and not to the more oj)en wood,
and they commonly make pretty clean work of it ; and more-
over, if the wood was old, the sprouts will be feeble or entirely
fail ; to say nothing about the soil being, in a measure, ex-
hausted for this kind of crop.

If a j)inc wood is surrounded by a white oak one chiefly,
white oaks may be expected to succeed when the pines are cut.
If it is surrounded instead by an edging of shrub-oaks, then you
will probably have a dense shrub-oak thicket.

I have no time to go into details, but will say, in a word, that
while the wind is conveying the seeds of pines into hard woods
and open lands, the squirrels and other animals are conveying
the seeds of oaks and walnuts into the pine woods, and thus
a rotation of crops is kept up.

I affirmed this confidently many years ago, and an occasional
examination of dense pine woods confirmed me in my oj)inion.
It has long been known to observers that squirrels bury nuts in
the ground, but I am not aware that any one has thus accounted
for the regular succession of forests.

On the 24th of September, in 1857, as I was paddling down
the Assabet, in this town, I saw a red squirrel run along the
bank under some herbage, with something large in its mouth.
It stopped near the foot of a hemlock, within a couple of rods
of me, and, hastily pawing a hole with its fore feet, dropped
its booty into it, covered it up, and retreated part way up the
trunk of the tree. As I approached the shore to examine the
deposit, the squirrel, descending i)art way, betrayed no little
anxiety about its treasure, and made two or three motions to

SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES. 15

recover it before it finally retreated. Digging tliere, I found
two green pig nuts joined together, with the thick husks on,
buried about an inch and a half under the reddish soil of de-
cayed hemlock leaves — just the right depth to plant it. In
short, tliis squirrel was then engaged in accomplishing two
objects, to wit, laying up a store of winter food for itself, and
planting a hickory wood for all creation. If the squirrel was
killed, or neglected its deposit, a hickory would spring up.
The nearest liickory tree was twenty rods distant. These nuts
were there still just fourteen days later, but were gone when I
looked again, November 21, or six weeks later still.

I have since examined more carefully several dense woods,
which are said to be, and are apparently exclusively pine, and
always with the same i-esult. For instance, I walked the same
day to a small, but very dense and handsome white-pine grove,
about fifteen rods square, in the east part of this town. The
trees are large for Concord, being from ten to twenty inches in
diameter, and as exclusively pine as any wood that I know.
Indeed, I selected this wood because I thought it the least likely
to contain any thing else. It stands on an open plain or pasture.
excei)t that it adjoins another small pine wood, which has a few
little oaks in it, on the south-east side. On every other side, it
was at least thirty rods from the nearest woods. Standing on
the edge of this grove and looking through it, for it is quite
level and free from underwood, for the most part bare, red-
carpeted ground, you would have said that there was not a hard
wood tree in it, young or old. But on looking carefully along
over its floor I discovered, though it was not till my eye had got
used to the search, that, alternating with thin ferns, and small
blueberry bushes, there was, not merely here and there, but as
often as every five feet, and with a degree of regularity, a little
oak, from three to twelve inches high, and in one place I found
a green acorn dropped by the base of a pine.

I confess I was surprised to find ray theory so perfectly proved
in this case. One of the principal agents in this planting, the
red squirrels, were all the while curiously inspecting me, while
I was inspecting their plantation. Some of the little oaks had
been browsed by cows, which resorted to this wood for shade.

After seven or eight years, the hard woods, evidently find
such a locality unfavorable to their growth, the pines being

16 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

allowed to stand. As an evidence of this, I observed a dis-
eased red maple twenty-five feet long, which had been recently
prostrated, though it was still covered with green leaves, the
only maple in any position in the wood.

But although these oaks almost invariably die if the pines
are not cut down, it is probable that they do better for a few-
years under their shelter than they would anywhere else.

The very extensive and thorough experiments of the English
have at length led them to adopt a method of raising oaks
almost precisely like this, which somewhat earlier had been
adopted by nature and her squirrels here ; they have simply
re-discovered the value of pines as nurses for oaks. The English
experimenters seem early and generally to have found out the
importance of using trees of some kind as nurse plants for the
young oaks. I quote from Loudon what he describes as " the
ultimatum on the subject of planting and sheltering oaks " —
an " abstract of the practice adopted by the government
officers in the national forests " of England, prepared by
Alexander Milne.

At first some oaks had been planted by themselves, and
others mixed with Scotch pines ; " but in all cases," says
Mr. Milne, " where oaks were planted actually among the
pines, and surrounded by them, [though the soil might be
inferior,] the oaks were found to be much the best." " For
several years past, the plan pursued has been to plant the
inclosures with Scotch pines only, [a tree very similar to our
pitch pine,] and when the pines have got to the height of five
or six feet, then to put in good strong oak plants of about four
or five years' growth among the pines — not cutting away any
pines at first, unless they happen to be so strong and thick
as to overshadow the oaks. In about two years, it becomes
neccs?ary to shred the branches of the pines, to give light and
air to the oaks, and in about two or three more years to begin
gradually to remove the pines altogether, taking out a certain
number each year, so that, at the end of twenty or twenty-five
years, not a single Scotch pine shall be left ; although, for the
first ten or twelve years, the plantation may have appeared to
contain nothing else but pine. The advantage of this mode of
planting has been found to be that the pines dry and ameliorate
the soil, destroying the coarse grass and brambles which

SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES. 17

frequently choke and injure oaks ; and that no mending over
is necessary, as scarcely an oak so planted is found to fail."

Thus much the English planters have discovered by patient
experiment, and, for aught I know, they have taken out a
patent for it ; but they appeared not to have discovered that it
was discovered before, and they are merely adopting the
method of Nature, which she long ago made patent to all.
She is all the while planting the oaks amid the pines without
our knowledge, and at last, instead of government officers, we
send a party of wood-choppers to cut down the pines, and so
rescue an oak forest, at which we wonder as if it had dropped
from the skies.

As I walk amid hickories, even in August, I hear the sound
of green pig-nuts falling from time to time, cut off by the
chickaree over my head. In the fall, I notice on the ground,
either within or in the neighborhood of oak woods, on all sides
of the town, stout oak twigs three or four inches long, bearing
half-a-dozen empty acorn-cups, which twigs have been gnawed
off by squirrels, on both sides of the nuts, in order to make
them more portable. The jays scream and the red squirrels
scold while you are clubbing and shaking the chestnut trees,
for they are there on the same errand, and two of a trade never
agree. I frequently see a red or gray squirrel cast down a
green chestnut bur, as I am going through the woods, and I
used to think, sometimes, that they were cast at me. In fact,
they are so busy about it, in the midst of the chestnut season,
that you cannot stand long in the woods without hearing one
fall. A sportsman told me that he had, the day before — that
was in the middle of October — seen a green chestnut bur dropt
on our great river meadow, fifty rods from the nearest wood,
and much further from the nearest chestnut tree, and he could
not tell how it came there. Occasionally, when chestnuting
in mid-winter, I find thirty or forty nuts in a pile, left in its
gallery, just under the leaves, by the common wood-mouse
Qniis leucopus.^

But especially in the winter the extent to which this trans-
portation and planting of nuts is carried on is made apparent
by the snow. In almost every wood, you will sec where the
red or gray squirrels have pawed down through the snow in a
hundred places, sometimes two feet deep, and almost always

3

18 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

directly to a nut or a pine-cone, as directly as if they had started
from it and bored upward — which you and I could not have
done. It would be difficult for us to find one before the snow
falls. Commonly, no doubt, they had deposited them there
in the fall. You wonder if they remember the localities, or
discover them by the scent. The red squirrel commonly has
its winter abode in the earth under a thicket of evergreens,
frequently under a small clump of evergreens in the midst of
a deciduous wood. If there are any nut-trees, which still
retain their nuts, standing at a distance without the wood,
their paths often lead directly to and from them. We, there-
fore, need not suppose an oak standing here and there in the
wood in order to seed it, but if a few stand within twenty or
thirty rods of it, it is sufficient.

I think that I may venture to say that every white-pine cone
that falls to the earth naturally in this town, before opening
and losing its seeds, and almost every pitch-pine one that falls
at all, is cut off by a squirrel, and they begin to pluck them
long before they are ripe, so that when the crop of white-pine
cones is a small one, as it commonly is, they cut off thus
almost every one of these before it fairly ripens. I think,
moreover, that their design, if I may so speak, in cutting
them off green, is, partly, to prevent their opening and losing
their seeds, for these are the ones for which they dig through
the snow, and the only white-pine cones which contain any thing
then. I have counted in one heap, v/ithin a diameter of four
feet, the cores of 239^ pitch-pine cones which had been cut off
and stripped by the red squirrel the previous winter.

The nuts thus left on the surface, or buried just beneath it,
are placed in the most favorable circumstances for germinating.
I have sometimes wondered how those which merely fell on the
surface of the earth got planted ; but by the end of December,
I find the chestnuts of the same year partially mixed with the
mould, as it were, under the decaying and mouldy leaves, where
there is all the moisture and manure they want, for the nuts
fall first. In a plentiful year, a large proportion of the nuts
are thus covered loosely an inch deep, and are, of course,
somewhat concealed from squirrels. One winter, when the
crop had been abundant, I got, with the aid of a rake, many
quarts of these nuts as late as the 10th of January, and though

SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES. 19

some bought at the store at the same day were more than half
of them mouldy, I did not find a single mouldy one among these
which I picked from under the wet and mouldy leaves, where'
they had been snowed on once or twice. Nature knows
how to pack them best. They were still plump and tender.
Apparently, they do not heat there, though wet. In the spring
they were all sprouting.

Loudon says that " when the nut [of the common walnut
of Europe] is to be preserved through the winter for the pur-
pose of planting in the following spring, it should be laid in
a rot heap, as soon as gathered, with the husk on ; and the
heap should be turned over frequently in the course of the
winter."

Here, again, he is stealing Nature's " thunder." How can
a poor mortal do otherwise ? for it is she that finds fingers
to steal with, and the treasure to be stolen. In the planting of
the seeds of most trees, the best gardeners do no more than
follow Nature, though they may not know it. Generally, both
large and small ones are most sure to germinate, and succeed
best, when only beaten into the earth with the back of a spade,
and then covered with leaves or straw. These results to which
planters have arrived, remind us of the experience of Kane
and his companions at the North, who, when learning to live
in that climate, were surprised to find themselves steadily
adopting the customs of the natives, simply becoming Esqui-
maux. So, when we experiment in planting forests, we find
ourselves at last doing as Nature does. Would it not be well
to consult with Nature in the outset ? for she is the most
extensive and experienced planter of us all, not excepting the
Dukes of Athol.

In short, they who have not attended particularly to this
sul)ject are but little aware to what an extent quadrupeds and
birds are employed, especially in the fall, in collecting, and
so disseminating and planting the seeds of trees. It is the
almost constant employment of the squirrels at that season,
and you rarely meet with one that has not a nut in its mouth,
or is not just going to get one. One squirrel-hunter of this
town told me that he knew of a walnut tree which bore par-
ticularly good nuts, but that on going to gather them one
fall, he found that he had been anticipated by a family of a

20 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

dozen red squirrels. He took out of the tree, which was hollow,
one bushel and three pecks by measurement, without the liusks,
and they supplied him and his family for the winter. It
would be easy to multiply instances of this kind. How com-
monly in the fall you see the cheek-pouches of the striped
squirrel distended by a quantity of nuts. This species get its
scientific name Taniias, or the steward, from its hal)it of
storing up nuts and other seeds. Look under a nut-tree a
month after the nuts have fallen, and see what proportion of
sound nuts to the abortive ones and shells you will find
ordinarily. They have been already eaten, or dispersed far
and wide. The ground looks like a platform before a grocery,
where the gossips of the village sit to crack nuts and less savory
jokes. You have come, you would say, after the feast was
over, and are presented with the shells only.

Occasionally, wlien threading the woods in the fjill, you will
hear a sound as if some one had broken a twig, and looking up,
see a jay pecking at an acorn, or you will see a flock of them
at once about it, in the top of an oak, and hear them break
them off. They then fly to a suitable limb, and placing the
acorn under one foot, hammer away at it busily, making a
sound like a wood pecker's tapping, looking round from time to
time to see if any foe is approaching, and soon reach the meat,
and nibble at it, holding up their heads to swallow, while they
hold the remainder veiy firmly with their claws. Nevertheless,
at often drops to the ground before the bird has done with it.
I can confirm what William Bertram wrote to Wilson, the
Ornithologist, that " The jay is one of the most useful agents
in the economy of nature, for disseminating forest trees and
other nuciferous and hard-seeded vegetables on which they feed.
Their chief employment during the autumnal season is foraging
to supply their winter stores. In performing this necessary
duty they drop abundance of seed in their flight over fields,
hedges, and by fences where they alight to deposit them in the
post-holes, etc. It is remarkable what numbers of young trees
rise up in fields and pastures after a wet winter and spring.
These birds alone are capable, in a few years time, to replant
all the cleared lands."

I have noticed that squirrels also frequently drop their nuts
in open land, which will still further account for the oaks and

SUCCESSION OF FOREST TREES. 21

walnuts whicli spring up in pastures, for, depend on it, every
new tree comes from a seed. When I examine tlic little oaks,
one or two years old, in such places, I invariably find the empty
acorn from which they sprung.

So far from the seed having lain dormant in the soil since
oaks grew there before, as many believe, it is well known that
it is difficult to preserve the vitality of acorns long enough to
transport them to Europe ; and it is recommended in Loudon's
Arboretum, as the safest course, to sprout them in pots on the
voyage. The same authority states that " very few acorns of
any species will germinate after having been kept a year,"
that beach mast " only retains its vital properties one year,"
and the black walnut, " seldom more than six months after it
has ripened." I have frequently found that in November
almost every acorn left on the ground had sprouted or decayed.
AVhat with frost, drouth, moisture, and worms, the greater part
are soon destroyed. Yet it is stated by one botanical writer
that " acorns that have lain for centuries, on being ploughed up,
have soon vegetated."

Mr. George B. Emerson, in liis valuable Report on the Trees
and Shrubs of this State, says of the pines : " The tenacity of
life of the seeds is remarkable. They will remain for many
years unchanged in the ground, protected by the coolness and
deep shade of the forest above them. But when the forest is
removed, and the warmth of the sun admitted, they immediately
vegetate." Since he does not tell us on what observation his
remark is founded, I must doubt its truth. Besides, tlie expe-
rience of nurserymen makes it tlie more questionable.

The stories of wheat raised from seed buried with an ancient
Egyptian, and of raspberries raised from seed found in the
stomach of a man in England, who is supposed to have died
sixteen or seventeen hundred years ago, are generally dis-
credited, simply because the evidence is not conclusive.

Several men of science. Dr. Carpenter among them, have
used the statement that beach-plums sprang up in sand which
was dug up forty miles inland in Maine, to prove that the seed
had lain there a very long time, and some have inferred that
the coast has receded so far. But it seems to me necessary to
their argument to show, first, that beach-plums grow only on a
beach. They arc not uncommon here, which is about half that

22 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

distance from the shore, and I remember a dense patcli a few
miles north of us, twenty-five miles inland, from which tho
fruit was annually carried to market. How much further
inland they grow, I know not. Dr. Cliarles T. Jackson speaks
of finding " beach-plums " (perhaps they were this kind) more
than one hundred miles inland in Maine.

It chances that similar objections lie against all the more
notorious instances of the kind on record.

Yet I am prepared to believe that some seeds, especially
small ones, may retain their vitality for centuries under favora-
ble circumstances. In the spring of 1859, the old Hunt house,
so called, in this town, whose chimney bore the date of 1703,
was taken down. This stood on land which belonged to John
Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, and a part of
the house was evidently much older than the above date, and
belonged to the Winthrop family. For many years, I have
ransacked this neighborhood for plants, and I consider myself
familiar with its productions. Thinking of the seeds which
are said to be sometimes dug up at an unusual depth in the
earth, and thus to reproduce long extinct plants, it occurred
to me last fall that some new or rare plants might have sprung
up in the cellar of this house, which had been covered from the
light so long. Searching there on the 22d of September, I
found, among other rank weeds, a species of nettle (Urtica
urens) which I had not found before ; dill, which I had not
seen growing spontaneously ; the Jerusalem oak, (Chenopodium
botrys) which I had seen wild in but one place ; black night-
shade (Solanum nigrum,) which is quite rare hereabouts, and
common tobacco, which, though it was often cultivated here in
the last century, has for fifty years been an unknown plant in
this town, and a few months before this not even I had heard
that one man in the north part of the town was cultivating a
few plants for his own use. I have no doubt that some or all
of these plants sprang from seeds which had long been buried
under or about that house, and that that tobacco is an ad-
ditional evidence that tlie plant was formerly cultivated here.
The cellar has been filled up this year, and four of those
plants, including the tobacco, are now again extinct in that
locality.

SUCCESSION OP FOREST TREES. 23

It is true, I have shown that tlie animals consume a great
part of the seeds of trees, and so, at least, effectually prevent
their becoming trees ; but in all these cases, as I have said, the
consunaer is compelled to be at the same time the disperser and
planter, and this is the tax which he pays to nature. I think
it is Linnasus who says that while the swine is rooting for acorns
he is planting acorns.

2^ MASSACnUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

THE STOCK ON OUIl FARMS

From an Address before the Worcester Xorth Agricultural Society.

BY GEORGK B. LOKING.

The siil)j ligation of the animal kingdom to the wants and lux-
uries of man, constitutes one of the most interesting chapters in
the history of practical human advancement. In the beginning,
man was created " to have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle ;" and when
by his " first disobedience " he was obliged to resign the enjoy-
ment of reaping the spontaneous productions of the earth, for
an unequal contest with thorns and thistles, no decree went
forth to release the " beasts of the field " from their predestined
bondage. The " bleating flocks " which welcomed the dawn of
creation, were sacrificed to furnish the two first human sinners
with " coats of skins," after their expulsion from Eden, into
the chilling influences of the outer world ; and we are told that
the second born on the face of the earth, occupied those prime-
val hours, amid new and oriental luxuriance, as a "keeper of
sheep."

From that day to this, the production and care of animals
adapted to human wants has been one of the most important
branches of husbandry. We have no means of judging of the
quality of Abel's sheep, " of the firstlings of his flock, and of
the fat thereof." We only learn of Jacob's herds that they were
" ring-streaked and speckled." And amidst all the elevation of
Taurus the Bull into the heavenly constellations, of Apis into
the catalogue of heathen deities ; amidst the poetic fancies which
created the white bull of Europa, and adorned the ancient
gate-ways and arches with the gaunt forms of stately oxen,
and gave the name Boopis (ox-eyed) to the fairest goddess, and
filled the classic song of Virgil with the voices of thronging

THE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 25

cattle, and gave to the English poet the subdued and quiet
picture, as •

" The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,"

and expressed the climax of luxuriant possession in " the cattle
upon a thousand hills," — amidst all this we have never yet
learned what skill and practical experience produced the foun-
dation of such pleasing imagery, nor what rural economies
guided the earliest farmers in their rearing of cattle.

There is, it is true, an old French proverb — " no cattle, no
farming — few cattle, poor farming — many cattle, good farming."
And we learn that when Cato, the wise and sagacious Roman,
was asked " what was the most assured profit raising out of
land ? " made the answer — " To feed well." Being asked
again, " what was the next?" he answered — "To feed with
moderation." And we can easily imagine the contrast which
exists between that aboriginal production of food, which the
sinewy savage practices as he pursues the still more sinewy
cattle across the plain, and even the first dawn of domestica-
tion in the management of animals — and the still greater con-
trast which exists between the wild and flying drover of the
pampas, and that calm and solid and imperturbable specimen
of humanity, who winds his placid way from the valley of the
Tees to Smithfield market, realizing as he follows his rolling
and wallowing Short-horns, the truth of the saying " who
drives fat oxen should himself be fat." There is a long inter-
A-al between " the five hundred yoke of oxen" of Job, and
the stupendous breeds which graze upon the fat pastures of
England, bred and reared by rule into an exact estimate of the
cost of each " pound of flesh." And to us who are engaged in
farming among all the modern improvements, it is a matter of
special interest to know the processes by which the present
breeds and races of cattle have been brought to their existing
perfection, and how they can be preserved in their condition.
An Ayrshire cow, and a Short-horn bullock, are by no means
the result of accident. They have been produced by the appli-
cation of the highest and most intelligent skill, at the hands of
the Bakewells and Parkeses and Mickles and Ceilings, under
whose treatment, as has been truly said, the " long-legged, slab-

4

26 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

sided, ill-l)red oxen, are metamorphosed into small-boned,
quick-fattening Devons and elephantine Durhams, (Short-
horns) ; and the " lean, hurdle-backed Norfolk rams become
beautiful firkin-bodied South Downs." We, in the United
States, have the advantage of the experience and the profits of
these distinguished and successful breeders ; and it especially
becomes us to inquire what advantage we can derive from all
that they have done. We must have cattle adapted to our soil
and climate, cattle which can be profitably fed, cattle which
will make the best return for the labor and produce bestowed
upon them.

I am aware that there is no breed of cattle universally
adapted to the United States, or even to any one State. The
valley of the Connecticut and the hills of Berkshire and Essex,
in Massachusetts, differ almost as much as the valley of the
Tees and Highlands of Scotland. And we shall find that, in
selecting a breed of cattle for each locality, we must be obedi-
ent to nature, or nature will take the matter into her own hands,
and will bring about a certain conformity between liersclf and
tlie animals which she is to nourish. When I tell you that
Short-horns have not thriven well in some parts of the New
England States, and that Ayrshires have shown too great a dis-
position to take on fat in the rich pastures of Maryland, owing
I think, to a bad selection of animals, to a great extent, you
will understand what I mean by saying that nature will have
her own way in these things.

Still the necessities and the interest of every community
generally control its industry. We may learn from the statis-
tics of Massachusetts cattle husbandry, what her people
demand most in this branch of all the varieties of fiirming,
large and small, among us. I find that in 1855 the number of
cows and heifers in that State was 184,008 — tlie number of
oxen and steers was 77,511. The value of the cows and heifers
was estimated at $4,892,291 — the value of the oxen and steers
was '^3,240,341. The value of the dairy products of that year,
consisting of milk, butter and cheese was $2,898,690.28.

In Pennsylvania, tlie number of milch cows is 530,224 ; of
working oxen, 61,527 ; of other cattle, 562,195.

In New York, the number of milch cows is 931,324 ; of
working oxen, 178,909; of other cattle, 767,406.

THE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 27

In (xeorgia, the number of milch cows is 334,223 ; of work-
ing oxen, 73,286 ; of other cattle, 690,019.

In Kentucky, the number of milch cows is 247,475 ; of
working oxen, 62,274; of other cattle, 442,763.

In Illinois, the number of milch cows is 294,671 ; of working
oxen, 76,156 ; of other cattle, 541,209.

These figures are very significant with regard to the animals
most in demand among us. They show the universal impor-
tance of the dairy, while they moreover indicate those States
in which distance from the market and the low price of pasture
lands, combine to render grazing the most convenient, as well
as the most profitable branch of farming. In the valleys of the
"West and South, and in some parts of New England and the
middle States, beef is raised to a profit — every advantage being
taken of the best breed of cattle for such a purpose. On the
East and on the West, on the North and on the South, in every
direction, at the fountain head of our grain crops, before corn
has been quadrupled on the original price of the producer by
long transportation, and by speculation, there, where the rich
valleys and prairies of tlie West offer an abundant and a cheap
sustenance for cattle, and w'here a propitious climate economizes
food and labor, while all about us beef is growing as it were
spontaneously — we can never expect to adopt this as an exten-
sive branch of our farming interest.

It is the dairy therefore which occupies the attention of most
of our farmers. Every man who owns land keeps a cow. The
milk pail is one of the first utensils provided for carrying on
the domestic economy. The rich man is never satisfied until
his table is furnished with milk and cream from his own private
animal. The poor man finds his establishment incomplete
until he has added a shed for his cow ; and his farming is never
perfected until he occupies the highway as a pasture, and gleans
his winter's store of fodder from the neighboring meadows.
Every larger farm has its dairy proportioned to its size and
cultivation. As we look abroad over our State, it must be
apparent to every intelligent observer, that he will be a true
benefactor to our farming community who will improve tlic
dairy stock of New England, and bring it to as high a degree
of uniformity as possible, making all due allowance for diversi-
ties of climate and locality.

28 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

We hear a great deal of the " old red stock of New Eng-
land." It has many warm admirers ; and in the literary devo-
tion of some of its highly intelligent historians and friends, (I
had almost said apologists,) it promises to become as classic in
the bovine annals, as the " Old Red Sandstone " has become in
geological pages, under the pen of Hugh Miller. I suppose
there is such a breed of cattle — but what it is and where it
originated, I have never found any investigator who could
inform me. The first cattle brought into New England, were
imported in the Charity, in the care of Mr. "Winslow, the Agent
of the Plymouth Colony, early in the spring of 1623. To
what breed they belonged it is impossible to tell. But as a
large proportion of the early immigrants were from Devon-
shire and the South of England, where the Devon cattle were
even then popular, and where that breed had long been estab-
lished, it is very probable that the earliest arrivals here were
strongly tinctured with this blood. It is not very probable
that they were of pure blood, for the circumstances of our
ancestors did not admit of their entering very largely into
fancy stock. It is more likely that the animals were purchased
as advantageously as possible in the section of country whence
tlie travellers debarked. The color of their descendants would
indicate that they were Devons more or less pure.

There is every reason to suppose that the class of animals to
which I am referring had their origin, as I have suggested ;
and that in the same manner a larger sized and coarser animal
was early found in New York, and a smaller and less thrifty
breed, analogous to the Jerseys, were planted in the southern
parts of Maryland, and are found there to this day.

Whatever may have been its origin, it has really no charac-
teristics left, which would recommend it to an intelligent
breeder. The " old red stock of New England " is acclimated
it is true — so is the second generation of any imported Short-
horn or Ayrshire or Jersey. But the difficulty is that they are
a series of accidents. There is no prevailing type about them.
Long-horns and short-horns and no-horns; straight-backs and
crooked ; shoulders as compact as those of a Sutrolk pig, and
shoulders as loose and coarse as the fore-quarters of a drome-
dary ; fine, silky hair, and hair as coarse as bristles ; the " feel"
of an air-tight stove, and skins as soft and elastic as wash-

THE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 29

leather ; a heap of offal on the one hand and that superabun-
dance of flesh nicknamed " sandwich," on the other ; pocket
editions of cows and huge folios of oxen growing side by side
in the same family ; cows that will give milk the year round,
and cows that go dry four or five months out of the twelve,
both of one parentage ; these constitute the " old red cattle of
New England," which are recommended to our farmers for
their special care and attention. There are meritorious animals
among them, it is true. It would be extraordinary were there
not. But let any man undertake to collect a herd of twenty
cows, of superior quality, out of this great New England
family, and how long do you suppose it will take him to do it ?
As I have said, the good ones are the exceptions — they are for-
tunate accidents. And although there may be in these animals
— some of them — a basis for good native stock of our own, still
I must confess that I conceive the farthest remove from them
the best position to gain with any prospect of uniformity and
superior excellence.

The observation of every man of experience will teach him
this. "Wherever in New England, or in fact, in the United
States, you may find a locality famous for good cattle, the high
quality of that stock has come from some pure importation.
More than fifty years ago, Mr. John Vaughn, a liberal and in-
telligent gentleman, who conceived that England without Priest-
ley was no place for a Christian to live in, followed that great
philosopher and divine in his flight to our shores, and settled on
the banks of the Kennebec. He imported the Durham cattle
of that day, the improved Short-horns of ours ; and you may
find to this day, grazing in the valley of that river, a large,
thrifty, quick-growing, solid, massive breed of cattle, the indige-
nous Short-horns of that region ; indigenous, because they have
become adapted through generations to that soil and climate,
and are now among the most profitable products of the State.
Go to Portsmouth and the surrounding towns, and you will find
cattle of similar quality and description, the fruits of the more
recent importations of Colonel Pierce ; a native stock now, but
possessing certain characteristics, wliich they neither lose either
in succeeding generations or in various families. An importa-
tion into the valley of the Connecticut, by the late Mr. "Williams,
whose herd has been transmitted with as much judgment and

30 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

skill and intelligence as can be found even in the old country,
has stamped the stock of this section with points of value seldom
equalled. I had often been struck with the excellence of the
cows in the Aroostook region, and thence to the Bay of Fundy
— a well-bred, hardy, dairy-looking race of animals ; and I soon
discovered that some choice Ayrshires had been brought into
that country. The oxen of Meredith Bridge and Lake Winni-
pisseogee — who has not admired their stately carriage, their
rich color, their symmetry of form, their thrift, and their size
and endurance ? They are the modern Devon blood mixed
with Short-horn, and engrafted upon that soil, and brought to a
high degree of perfection by judicious care. In an obscure
town in Essex County, Massachusetts, there was a remarkable
cow, known of all men thereabouts, distinguished from all " the
old red stock," for her outline, her milking qualities, her
beauty ; her owner said she was English ; on inquiry, I found
that she had descended from a herd of Ayrshires, brought into
the country many years ago, and now nearly extinct. There
are certain portions of Essex County where I can almost always
replenish my herd of cows without much difficulty, and with
many chances of finding good animals ; and I always find that
either Parsons imported into those regions, or such men as
Pickering and Newell brought among us choice imported ani-
mals from other parts of the State. And I think you will find
that whether you are searching for beef or milk, as a general
rule, the farther you get from the " old red stock " the better
off you will be, always granting that they possess certain quali-
ties which furnish an excellent opportunity for improvement,

I was called to account last winter by one of the religious
newspapers of the day, which seemed for the time to have
strayed away from that fold to which it was specially devoted,
because in the agricultural discussions of the legislative season
I had advocated the importation of cattle, and the introduction
of the best foreign breeds into our own country, while at the
same time I urged the possibility of improving the quality of
our horses by confining ourselves to the best breeds which we
now have among us. A word in defence and explanation may
not be inappropriate here. The picture of our so-called native
cattle, which I have drawn, is not inaccurate. "Wherever I find
a high average of dairy produce per cow, as in Vermont and

TjHE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 31

Massachusetts, I find also an infusion of foreign blood, brought
here, and planted on our soil for the special purpose of estab-
lisliing a dairy stock. When, on the other hand, I go to Ken-
tucky and admire her herds of beef cattle revelling in the rich
blue grass pastures of that State, I find'that her farmers availed
themselves of the patient and long continued efforts of beef-
breeders abroad, as the foundation of their work. In the dairy
herds of Vermont may be traced the strains of the Ayrsliire and
Short-horn blood, which have entered the State from the Scotch
farmers on the north, and from the enterprise of Massachusetts
on the south. It is by the same process that improvements in
our cattle have been made throughout our country. And the
reason is this : Having no specific stock of our own, no stock
devoted to any special purpose, we have been obliged to look
elsewhere for it. Half a century ago it would have been almost,
impossible to have discovered what the neat stock of New Eng-
land was intended for, whether for beef, or the dairy, or for the
simple purpose of consuming the produce of our farms, or for
all these objects combined. The whole system of breeding — in
fact, the whole community of our cattle was in utter chaos and
confusion, out of which no man considered it possible to bring
order. Accidental importations of valuable animals soon began
to produce a very marked effect. And observing farmers soon
found that size, symmetry, adaptation to any peculiar want or
purpose could be obtained by a judicious selection of pure blood.
A little herd of Devons, for instance, whose lineage commenced
with the early days of agriculture in England, was found to give
new vigor and style and increased value to the stock of the neigh-
borhood into which they were imported. A few stray animals
from the Channel Islands or the north of France, would leave a
new type and a somewhat improved one too, in the region
where they happened to land. The marked effect of Durhams,
as they were then called, and in later years, of Ayrshires, of
Galloways, and Holsteins, and Herefords, was so evident, that
even the most careless farmer became anxious to avail himself
of the improvement. For he found in the confusion of shapes,
and sizes, and colors by which he was surrounded, that " blood
will tell," and that an animal intended for a specific purpose
possessed qualities and powers unknown to any mere accident.
The old-fashioned Yorkshire cow, the great cow of the London

32 'MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

dairies, whose immense frame has served as the foundation of a
most valuable race of animals in England, did much to increase
the dairy products of our farmers, belonging as she did to a race
of milkers. And it soon became evident that the most rapid
and economical way t6 arrive at any desirable point, was to
begin at' once at the fountain head, wherever that had been
fixed.

Whoever at the present day desires a dairy herd, can find
animals bred for that special purpose, for many generations,
on the farms in Ayrshire, and which have been brought by
care and cultivation to the highest standard of a milking
cow. lie cannot find that in this country, he must go abroad
for it. So also of animals for beef, work, A:c. There are
better breeds of cattle in England and Scotland than there are
.in our own country — with the exception of those imported by
us, or descended directly from our importations.

Now, this is not the case with regard to our horses. The
American trotting horse is an animal after his own kind, and
I venture to say unequalled by any horse on the face of the
earth, in all that makes such an animal truly valuable for all
kinds of work. It takes true equine genius to make a trotting
horse. His mechanism must be as well balanced and as
symmetrical as a locomotive. Propelled as he is by one quarter
at a time, his progress is the result of nerve, and strength, and
decision, unknown and utterly ignored in that leaping, bound-
ing motion, where one end follows the other, as is the case
with the running horse of the English turf. He must be solid
in his foot, strong in his limb, firm in his back, free and easy
in his stride, and above all things, calm and collected amidst
all those trials of the track and the road which tend to throw
him off his balance, and reduce him to the level of the hare,
and the fox, and the grey-hound, and the English race-horse,
running helter-skelter in a natural manner, without the exer-
cise of any faculties except those with which nature endows
the coward when he flies from danger or conflict. The Amer-
ican trotter requires bones, and muscles, and brains. And
when he stands high in the list, he has them all. For com-
pactness of form and ease of motion, for strength, endurance,
and sagacity, he is unequalled.

THE STOCK OX OUR FARMS. 33

The beautiful description whicli Virgil gives of a good steed
in his day, is just as true in our own : —

" Choose with like care tlie courser's generous breed,
And from his birth, prepare the parent steed ;
His color mai'k, select the glossy bay,
And to the white or dun, prefer the gray.
As yet a colt he stalks with lofty pace.
And balances his limbs with flexile grace :
First leads the way, the thrcat'ning torrent braves,
And dares the unknown arch that spans the waves.
Light on his airy crest his slender head —
His body short, his loins luxuriant spread ;
Muscle on muscle knots his brawny breast.
No fear alarms him, nor vain shouts molest.
O'er his right shoulder, floating full and fair.
Sweeps his thick mane, and spreads its pomp of hair;
Swift works his double spine, and earth around
Rings to his solid hoof that wears the ground."

Now we have this animal as the natural product of our
farms. I know not how it has come to pass — but it is a fact,
that the farmer's horse in New England is peculiar to himself,
and is, moreover, peculiarly an American institution. He may
be descended from the Thoroughbred, for any thing that can
be said to the contrary ; but the farther he is removed from
that rather equivocal class of animals, the more truly does
he become a trotter. I look upon him as one result of that
social and civil equality which in our own country makes one
man's time as valuable as another's, and which authorizes the
farmer's boy to take the road from the squire, or the parson,
or the doctor, whenever his colt can do it. Every man in
this country who can keep a horse, wants a good one, and
when he has got him, he wants to avail himself of his horse's
powers, to make the distance between the mill or the meeting-
house and his own home as short as possible. We all drive
on the road ; and this, combined undoubtedly with certain
fortunate aptitudes of climate and soil, has given New England
her valuable race of trotters.

Why should we go abroad, then, with the expectation of
improving wliat we now have ? While we have our Messen-
gers and Black Hawks, and other families of Morgans, so
5

34 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

diverse in size and shape, so well fitted by form and temper
to every labor, and yet possessing a kind of prevailing uni-
formity expressed by tlic plirase, " a horse of all work," can
we hope to derive any benefit from a resort to those specific
breeds of horses wiiich in England are devoted each to its
speciality ? There is no necessity, for instance, for importing
a Suffolk Punch — for half a day's search would undoubtedly
provide you with just such an animal, raised on your own soil.
We need not import hunters, for we have no need of any such
horse among us. The Cleveland Bay, valuable as a carriage
horse, could hardly expect to improve the stylish breeds found
South and West, and distinguished more for style than any
thing else. And when we consider that it is only after we
have reached many removes from the Thoroughbred, that we
have arrived at good trotters ; when we remember that neither
in shoulder, nor leg, nor qnai-ter, nor general mechanism, is
there any analogy between the Thoroughbred as raised in
England, and the trotter as raised in our own country, we
may well ask ourselves what advantage is to be derived from
the introduction of such animals among us.

It is because we have already what we want in the way
of horses, that I am opposed to the introduction of foreign
blood among them. Our customs and modes of life, together
with perhaps a fortunate outset, and certain natural advan-
tages, have produced for us better horses than we can import.
If this were the case in regard to our cattle, I should entertain
the same opinion with regard to them. But it is not so. We
have, partly by accident, and partly by design, been engaged
for years in developing a race of trotting horses. But we
have not developed races of cattle, peculiarly adapted to the
dairy or the shambles. That work is still before us ; and we
can only accomplish it by obtaining such animals, wherever
they can be foiuid, until we have established the races for
ourselves.

With this estimate of the value and importance of the
various breeds of cattle in England, and the advantage to be
derived from tlieir introduction into this country, I am aware
that some discussion of their respective merits will be expected
of me. There are certain qualities belonging to each of them

THE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 35

which present strong temptations to the farmer ; and it is,
moreover, undoubtedly true, that certain modifications take
place in all, after their introduction to this country, which
may be good or bad, according to the quality of the importa-
tion, and the influences to which it is exposed. Senator
Douglas once told me that Illinois was producing better Short-
horns than could be found in England ; and I have no doubt
the breed does improve on the fine pastures and under the
mild sky of the West and South-west. Thoroughbred Devons
seem never to have maintained in this country the character
they have secured in England. Both as cows and oxen, they
are graded here to great advantage, but as pure animals they
seem to degenerate. I have never seen so good a Jersey cow
raised in this country as I have seen imported. Of Herefords,
West Highlanders, and others, we have hardly had good
opportunities to judge — the former not having increased to any
number, and the latter hardly having appeared among us.
Ayrshires, judiciously selected and properly treated, have taken
kindly to our soil and climate, and in many instances have
improved upon the originals.

So far as the products of the various breeds of cattle are
concerned, there are certain facts worthy of notice. There is
no doubt that the beef of the West Highlander, of the Devon,
and perhaps of the Galloway and Hereford, is better than that
of the Short-horns — not so profitably raised — but more pal-
atable. I found no beef in England, where roast beef appears
as it does in our own country, so good as I find in the markets
of New England, and especially in those of New York, Phila-
delphia, and Washington. So far as my observation goes, and
so far as I can learn from dairymen abroad, cows go dry, on an
average, twice as long in this country as they do in Great
Britain and other parts of Europe. These various facts are
worth remembering, while we discuss the quality of different
breeds of cattle, whether for beef or milk.

It having been determined by the English farmer, that the
production of beef and milk cannot be profitably combined in
the same animal, the chief attention of breeders there has been
turned to what might be called a division of the question.
Agriculture in England is conducted in such a manner as to

3G MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

render it remunerative to the farmer, as well as useful to the
great mass of consumers ; and the raising of beef and mutton
has become a very important and well-regulated branch of hus-
bandry. Not only have systems of economical feeding been
adopted, but great attention has been paid to the production
of animals best adapted to growth and early fattening. For
many years the Herefords and Devons stood in the front rank,
in all beef-growing districts. But it was found, as was sup-
posed, that the Hereford was unfit for the grazier until after
he was two years old, and that although he took no fat readily
after that period, still he was hardly a remunerative animal
to rear up to that age, and the profit to be made on him came
not to the grower, but to the feeder who purchased him for
stalling or grazing. The same fault was found with the Devons,
which, as ox labor was superseded very much by horses, be-
came in less demand for draught, and were found, in the end,
although fattening rapidly after reaching maturity, to have
cost more than rapid growers and early fatteners. It was
these considerations which induced Charles and Robert Colling
to select from various herds of the superior animals found in
tlic valley of the Tees, a choice few from which they succeeded
in creating the famous Improved Short-horn, which has prob-
ably already gained tiie highest position among English beef
cattle.

From the time of the sale of Charles Colling's herd, October
11, 1810, up to this time, the breed has continued to rise
in public estimation, and the fabulous prices secured for the
animals, both in England and in this country, indicate a high
rej)utation, whether deserved or not. There seems to be no
doubt that they are a very profitable animal to raise in certain
sections, reaching early maturity, taking on fat during the
whole period of growth, and attaining great size. So far as
our observation goes, they make very superior grades, and
unless allowed to degenerate by scanty feeding and improper
care, in which case they become raw, misshapen brutes, they
are a valual)le ac(]uisition to almost any district. They have
their defects, however, as what races have not ? Short-horn
beef, although profitable to the producer, is not so to the
consumer — being coarse in texture, poorly marbled, and from

THE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 37

its early maturity deficient in those nitrogenous compounds
which are the true sources of nutriment. Tiiis is not true to
so great an extent of tlic grades as of the Thorouglibreds ; and
while I have no doubt tiiat pure-bred Herefords or Dcvons
would be more profitable for the New England farmer, whose
mode of feeding is not calculated to produce early maturity, I
find many judicious farmers who believe that an admixture
of Short-horn blood, properly distributed, is of greater real
profit than the same use of either of the others. I have seen,
moreover, grade Short-horn cows in New York and some
sections of Massachusetts, whose milking properties are extraor-
dinary, notwithstanding the universally acknowledged fact that
pure-bred Improved Sliort-horns lay no claim to being consid-
ered dairy animals.

I do not mean to say that these remarks will apply to every
section of our country. You will however sustain me in apply-
ing them to many sections ; and I am supported in my position
by the testimony of many intelligent farmers. One thing how-
ever, I do find universally acknowledged, viz. : that Short-horns,
pure and grades, require an abundant supply of nutritious food
and careful shelter and shade. It must be said of them that
they are not universally applicable, and that as an animal for
the small farmer, they are hardly appropriate. I find the same
view taken of them in some parts of England, as in the county
of Shropshire for instance, where Herefords of every descrip-
tion are decidedly preferred — not as I can learn for the dairy at
all, in any form either pure or grades — but for easy feeding and
rapid fattening, after reaching maturity.

I have dwelt upon Short-horns as the foundation of a grade
stock for some portions of our country, because they have
attracted more attention than either Herefords or Devons —
because they have imparted, from their size and show, more
striking characteristics to our cattle than either of the other
breeds — and because they have attained so high a celebrity in
their native country. They have moreover a strain of milking
blood in their veins, which has shown itself in grades, with great
advantage to the dairy. Perhaps the same can be said, indeed,
of Herefords or Devons, the latter of which have been exten-
sively tried, and the former of which, for their hardiness, shape,

38 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

size and lliiift, deserve more consideration than they liave yet
received. ]t seems to me that for all our various localities they
possess a degree of applicability, which might be very valuable
to us. Short-horns must be fed from the start. Herefords
can be kept low until two years old and then fattened. Per-
haps I might say that Short-horns are better adapted to the
mild climate and rich pastures of our middle States, and Ilere-
fords and Dcvons to more northern latitudes, where early
growth is often unavoidably checked.

But as I have stated, observation and statistics show that
the dairy is one of the most important objects of the cattle
breeder, and that it is to the dairy that we are to look for
our largest profits. In this class of animals, the Jerseys
have become too well known in Massachusetts to need much
comment. They were described by Parkinson, a distinguished
Englisli writer on cattle, in 1810, under the name of Alderney,
as follows : —

" They seem to be a very tender species. Their color is
mostly yellow, with white or mottled faces, and white inter-
spersed on various parts ; they liave short, crumpled horns ;
their size is small, and they are of as bad a form as can possi-
bly be described ; the neck is very thin and hollow ; the shoul-
der stands up, and is the highest part ; hollow and narrow
behind the shoulders ; the chine is nearly without flesh ; the
bucks are narrow, and sharp at the ends ; the rump is short ;
the tliighs are thin ; the bones are small ; and they arc narrow
and light in the brisket; the milk is said to be rich, which it
ought, as they give but a small quantity, according to the food
tlicy consume."

This description will apply to many of the Jersey cows of
the present day — although the form of some families of them
seems to have been much improved within the last few years.
They are now in many respects, when well selected, striking
looking animals, and make a beautiful living ornament to parks
and meadows. They are almost strictly gentlemen's cows,
having obtained a high reputation for butter making, and
being great consumers of food. Few imported animals present
such remarkable differences — many of them bearing a close
analogy to the description given by Parkinson, and others

THE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 39

being symmetrical, uniform, compact, graceful, rotund, and as
remarkable for the small quantity of milk tliey yield, as for tbe
baauty of tlieir persons. There arc, however, exceptions to
both tliese rules — and I would instance Flora and Countess,
imported by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agricul-
ture, and a cow imported by Charles G. Loring, Esq., of
Boston, JMass., as a specimen of what a cow should be in shape
and capacity. There are few Jerseys like them.

Jerseys never look well under ordinary circumstances.
Tliey require good food, good shelter, a good looking stable,
and cleanliness to bring out their attractive appearance. The
grades, so far as my observation goes, are very fair milkers,
but not very remarkable ; and I doubt if in any form they
will ever become favorite animals with our farmers.

Whoever proposes to purchase the Tliorouglibreds cannot
be too careful in his selection — for the difference between the
genuine, well-bred and well-shaped Jersey, and the spurious
animal which comes from any of the Channel Islands or the
north of France, and is driven by dealers through the principal
markets of England for sale or barter, is as great as can be
conceived between any two animals.

Tlie dairy-farming, which is especially a part of the business
of the farmer, in the eastern States, finds its analogy, not in
Yorkshire, nor in the Isle of Jersey, but in that portion of
Scotland where the soil and climate are more like our own,
and where the development of dairy-stock has received the
attention of some of the most intelligent men of the commu-
nity. The farmers of Ayrshire and Wigtonshire find in their
immediate neighborhood a market for fresh dairy products,
and as there is no profit in feeding cattle for beef alone, in that
region, they have applied themselves to the work of obtaining
the best dairy cow, that can be put together. This is the origin
of the breed of cattle called Ayrshire. They are comparatively
modern in their introduction into the list of breeds, not having
been mentioned at all by Parkinson, fifty years ago ; and being
derived, as many assert, from a mixture of Short-horn blood
with the native blood of the region. We know herds which
have been forty years at least in being brought to their pres-
ent condition.

40 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

These animals arc the model of a dairy cow. Hardy, -well-
shaped, of medium size, and giving ample return for the amount
of food which they consume, they are wonderfully adapted to
our short pastures, and to our long, cold winters. Witliout
presenting any uncommon peculiarity, excepting a remarkable
symmetry, they would be selected at once by one of our intelli-
gent dairymen as the pattern of a cow suited to his purposes.
They are very analogous to our American trotting horse, in all
those points which unite to make a superior animal. In their
deep bodies, strong, clean heads, well-set, fine, and at the same
time muscular necks, sharp withers, sloping, prominent, well-
set shoulders, straight backs, broad hips, long quarters, and
fine, but not too small, bone ; in their size, neither small nor
large, they possess all the points, as you will see, of our best
native horse — a resemblance which will be found to a remark-
able degree, whenever you find a really good cow.

For the gratification of those who are exact in such matters,
I will give the measurement of a four-year-old cow which I
imported from Scotland last year, and which had received there
a succession of first prizes as the best model of a cow raised
in that country.

Girth, G feet. From the top of the shoulder to the tail, 4
feet, 6 inches. From the hip or hook bone to the point of the
hip, 1 foot, 7 inches. From the point of the brisket to the rear
of the udder, 4 feet, 6 inches. Length of udder, 1 foot, 6
inches. Distance from udder to brisket, 1 foot, 10 inches.
Distance between the teats from front to rear, 4 inches ; from
side to side, 2^ inches. Height, 4 feet, 2 inches. Width
across the hip, 1 foot, 9 inches. Width across the back, 1 foot,
5 inches. Length from the elbow to the point of the shoulder,
1 foot, 2 inches. Length of fore-leg, 2 feet, 2 inches. Length
of neck, 1 foot, 11 inches.

In form she is as well balanced and symmetrical as an animal
can be constructed. Her back is a perfect level ; and with the
perpendicular bearing of her limbs, and her evident strength,
a superficial observer would say at once she was admirably
constructed to bear the wear and tear of a dairy farm or a milk
farm, a sphere of life as trying to a race of cows as a livery
stable or a truck is to the race of horses. No feeble animal
can endure it.

THE STOCK ON OUR FARMS. 41

TliG cow to which 1 refer, commenced her operations by-
giving twenty quarts of milk per day, at three years old.

I consider the Ayrshire cow as the nniversal cow for the
dairy. She makes beef enough, when properly reared and
fed. She yields an abundance of milk for cheese or the market ;
and stands high as a producer of butter.

Among them is a race of animals partaking strongly of the
nature of the Short-horns, round, compact, thick-meated, close-
shouldered, easily fattening, which are to be avoided. Some
are found also with a peculiar shcUiness of skin, a hard,
unyielding inelastic feel, Avhich is very objectionable. Avoid-
ing these two defects, you can hardly fail of purchasing a
good cow, taking the average as they appear on the farms in
Ayrshire.

The oxen of this breed are remarkable for activity and vigor,
and for great thrift when fed for the shambles.

42 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

WHY A MASSACHUSETTS FARMER SHOULD
BE CONTENT.

From an Address before the Norfolk Agricultural Society.

BY GEORGE S. IIILLARD.

I propose to occupy jour attention with a statement of some
of the reasons which should make a Massachusetts farmer con-
tented with his lot. I would fain induce the farmers of Massa-
chusetts to plant and cultivate the herb called Heart's-ease,
which the shepherd boy whom Christiana and Mr. Great Heart
saw in the Valley of Humiliation, carried in his bosom. It is
a wholesome herb, and its breath is sweeter than violets, and I
do not think it grows in New England gardens so generally as
it should do. I hold it to be a good work to strive to make
men contented with their lot. Godliness with contentment,
says tlie apostle, is great gain. Observe how the two things are
joined — godliness with coiitentment. Godliness without con-
tentment may be gain ; but it is not great gain, at least, not the
greatest. The goodness which is sour, ungracious, and repin-
ing,— which has no effusions of gratitude to God, or kindliness
to man — is a poor and imperfect thing; it is heat without light,
like the warmth of a conservatory ; but godliness with content-
ment is like God's blessed sunshine, at once warmth and light.

Every human being is the centre of many circles. Some of
these embrace all the relations of humanity : some comprehend
those of country and political society; and others are limited
to the particular calling by which one's bread is earned. Every
farmer in Massachusetts is first, a man ; second, a citizen, and
last, a farmer. But I shall eliminate all the elements and con-
siderations except those which belong to the innermost circle,
and shall confine myself to those points which touch the farm-
ing population of Massachusetts, and do not go beyond them.

CULTIVATION OF IIEART'S-EASE. 43

Still the condition of the farmer himself — the desirableness or
undcsirableness of his position — is dependent, in some measnre,
upon elements which operate upon other callings as well as his
own ; but I shall treat of these elements only as they directly
or indirectly affect him.

An obvious division of my subject is suggested by consider-
ing the answer to these two questions : What is the relation of
man to the land ? "What is the relation of man to the soil ?

By land, I mean landed property, or real estate ; and by soil,
I mean that portion of the crust of the earth from which all
forms of vegetable life derive such part of their growth as is
not drawn from the atmosphere. Man's relation to the soil is
substantially determined by natural and irreversible laws, and
can ;only be modified by labor or capital. Man's relation to
the laud is regulated by usage and custom, taking the form of
positive law.

Let us first consider what are the relations of the farmer to
the soil in Massachusetts ; in other words, what are the natural
advantages and disadvantages attendant upon practical agricul-
tui'c here. The soil of Massachusetts shares in the general
characteristics of the soil of New England. New England is a
primary region, in the nomenclature of geology ; and its soil is
the disintegration and decomposition of the primary, or crystal-
line, rocks. It is for the most part light and thin ; frequently
running into sand and gravel ; and, except in certain favored
spots, as in tlie Valley of the Connecticut, of only moderate
fertility. A larger proportion of it is more suitable for grazing
than for arable tillage. But if our soil be not of that great
fertility which invites capital, and tempts to minute subdivision,
little or none of it is of that hopeless barrenness which dis-
courages labor. It is a soil which stimulates industry, and
reasonably rewards it ; and who has a right to ask more than
this ?

The climate of New England, though often abused, is not a
bad climate on the w^hole. AVe have long winters and hot
summers ; but the air of winter is pure and bracing, and the
heat of our short summers is rarely so great as to interrupt
labor, or make it dangerous to health. Such degree of solar
heat as we have in New England, is not only not injurious to
health, but I believe beneficial to it. When we are summing

U MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

up tlie good and tlic bad of our climate, we must bear in mind
that it is to the heat of our summers we owe the variety and
fine flavor of our fruits, in which we excel the English as
much as they excel us in scientific farming. From the heat of
our summers, too, comes our Indian corn, by far the most
important agricultural production of this country ; the value
of whicli slightly exceeds the aggregate of the three great
staples of wheat, cotton, and hay.

The climate of New England, though often disrespectfully
spoken of, is not unfavorable to health and longevity in tiiose
who, in their way of living, observe the laws and conditions of
health. "We are apt to make the climate a sort of scape-goat
for sins which really lie at our own door. The general stand-
ard of health here is not so high as it might be, and ought to
be ; but this is not the climate's fault. Xor is it because we
work too hard. Men do not work any harder here tiian they
do in Great Britain, cither in the learned professions, or the
active employments of business. The truth is that men never
are killed by work, but they arc sometimes by worry. In New
England there arc many men and many women whose lives
are shortened, and whose vital force is diminished while they
do live, by moral causes ; by the corrosion of disappointed
aspirations, by the failure of unreasonable and fantastic hopes,
by the shrinking of ill-woven ambitions, by feverish longings
for those glittering prizes of life which very few can hope to
win, and by a rebellious chafing against the will of God, when
their lot is poverty, obscurity, and failure. And there is another
source of ill-health in New England, which stands at a point in
the circle of humanity directly opposite to that whicli I have
just been considering, and that is the prevalence of bad cook-
cry, and the amount of unwholesome food which is conse-
quently consumed. It is doubtless mortifying to the pride of
humanity to be obliged to confess that the grandest energies of
the will, and the finest operations of the understanding, are
dependant upon the way in which we treat that vulgar organ,
the stomach ; but the sooner we admit the truth, and act upon
it, the better it will be for us. I am persuaded that the food
served habitually upon a majority of the tables of New Eng-
land, is such as the rules of dietetics would pronounce to be
uniicalthy ; and that if the farmers of New England, should,

CULTIVATION OF HExVRT'S-EASE. 45

in tlic feeding of their stock, neglect the laws of nutrition and
assimilation, as much as they do in the rearing of llieir fami-
lies, they would be pronounced ignorant of their profession.
New England is a region swarming with sensitive and uneasy
consciences : the spirit of reform is restless, clamorous and
importunate: it busies itself with distant toils and inaccessible
wrongs ; but here is a grievance lying at our very doors, to
which this spiiit may be legitimately and profitably addressed.
Reform your kitchens ; reform your gridirons and frying pans,
and you will be surprised to find how much your climate will
be improved.

There is a law of compensation which runs through all
things; and it applies with peculiar force to this geological
structure of New England, which denies to us any considerable
extent of vciy fertile soil. We owe to this our fortunate
exemption from those intermittent fevers which are such a
scourge in other parts of our country; and are commonly
produced whenever low, marshy lands are exposed to the action
of the sun's rays. Fertility and disease are often found dwell-
ing on the same spot ; and we may be content to give up some-
thing of the former if we are spared the latter.

There are other advantages arising from the structure and
natural features of New England which come directly home to
the business and pocket of the Massachusetts farmer. We
have deep water along our coasts: we have a bold and rocky
shore, opening into bays, estuaries, and inlets, in which safe
and sheltered harbors abound ; and we have a great number of
rivers and streams which in their passage from their sources to
the sea, are constantly passing from a higher to a lower level :
and lastly, the seas which wash our coasts abound with the fish
which are the most valuable for food, and thus the most important
as articles of commerce. Hence our natural advantages for
commerce and manufactures ; the latter arising from the great
abundance of water-power which the downward flow of our
streams creates. Nor should we, in summing up the gifts of a
kind Providence to us, overlook our immense forests, which not
only so much embellish our landscape, but are of such value
in their ap()lication to the wants of man, and the arts of life.

Tlie result of these natural advantages is seen in that diver-
sity of employment which is one of the marked characteristics

46 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

of Xcw England society, and by which none ])rofit more than
our farmers. How greatly the agriculture of Mapsachnsetts
has been stimulated and improved by the commercial cities
along our coast, and by the manufacturing towns which, within
a few years, have grown up on the banks of our innavigable
streams — innavigable because of those breaks and falls which
make them available for manufacturing purposes! Towns like
Lowell and Lawrence enhance the value of every farm in their
neighborhood, and stimulate the industry of every farmer.
And they do this in two ways : first, they furnish to the farmer
a new market for the })roduce of his farm, and tlius diminisli
the cost of transportation, which is the farmer's great difficulty
everywhere. It is a difficulty inherent in his occupation,
because the products of the farm are always and everywhere
bulky. Here is a man with five dollars in his pocket, who
wants a barrel of flour, and there is a man with a barrel of
flour, who wants five dollars ; but the two are five hundred
miles apart. In vain do they stretch their hands across the
waste and exclaim : " Ye gods, annihilate time and space, and
make two lovers happy." A city like Lowell, suddenly and
rapidly starting up in the midst of an agricultural region, docs
annihilate time and space, to all practical purposes. And in
the second place, these aggregations of population furnish, or
may furnish, to the contiguous farms, their appropriate nutri-
ment in the shape of manure. Manure is the food of the farm;
and if the resources of our cities and large towns in this regard
be not fully employed, it is because farming has not reached
the degree of excellence which it might. And there is still
another advantage secured to the farmer by the proximity of
these large towns. They create a demand for fruit and garden
vegetables, and thus enable the farmer to vary his productions,
and diversify the somewhat monotonous toils of agriculture
with the lighter labors of horticulture.

We see also in the land of our fathers, from which our agri-
culture, as well as our laws and our speech were derived, an
illustration of the benefits which agriculture has enjoyed from
the diversity of employments open to its people. The excellence
which British agriculture has reached is due in a considerable
degree to the dense population of the British isles, and the
number of local markets which have been thus created ; and

CULTIVATION OP HEART'S-EASE. 47

this dense population is due to the great natural resources of
the country, and the judicious policy by which tln^y have been
fostci'cd and developed. Tlie coast of Enf>;land abounds in
harbors, and its considerable rivers are not interrupted by
breaks and falls; and arc thus navigable for a longdistance
from their mouths. Tiiis characteristic of their rivers denies
them the abundant water-power which we possess ; but this
want is compensated by the boundless steam-power which their
coal mines furnish. England presents the remarkable and
anomalous spectacle of a nation in wdiich less than one-sixth of
the population are engaged in producing food for the oilier five-
sixths. The brilliant results of British agriculture, and the
progress it lias made since 1815, are owing to this disproportion,
and to the wealth which commerce and manufactures have been
pouring into their lap. Every man in England who acquires
wealth in commerce or manufactures, invests more or less of it
in land ; and amuses himself with the expensive luxury of
gentleman farming. Mr. Mechi, one of the best farmers in
England, and one of the best writers on agricultural subjects,
is a tradesman in London, carrying on a large business. The
profits he derives from his business he invests in a farm, which
it is his pride to make a model establishment in every respect.
Every thing that money can buy is bought, and every thing
that knowledge can do, is done, to further this object. No
matter how expensive an experiment may be, he is ready to try
it if it gives a fair promise of success. Nor is he by any means
a solitary or exceptional case.

The Massachusetts farmer has yet another advantage, in
which his English brother shares with him. I refer to the
railroads by which the State is veined and arteried, and by
which so healthy a circulation is kept up between producers
and consumers. These railroads are a pure and unqualified
benefit to the farmer. They have been built, for the most part,
by capital accumulated in trade or manufactures. The bene-
ficial influences of railroads are twofold. They save time and
money in the transport of the products of farms, live stock
included ; and enable the farmer to make use of distant
markets. This is a direct and tangible benefit, the extent of
which may be calculated in dollars and cents. But they serve
the agricultural interest in another way. They enaljlc men to

48 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

do business in Boston, and live in tlie country, icn, fiOcen,
even twenty miles off, Tiiis is an advantage to liim, we readily
sec. It purifies and elevates his life, by the daily influence of
rural sights and sounds. Tlie freshness and beauty of Nature,
glittering with morning dew, prepare him for his daily toils;
and when these are over, he is soothed and refreshed by the
sweet influences of sunset and evening. It is an advantage for
his children ; for they arc saved from the dangers of city life ;
they gain health and strength from pure air, regular habits,
and invigoiating exercise ; and they learn a thousand useful
things that books and schools cannot teach. But this is not all.
No man will be willing to take tvv-^o journeys in the cars,
every secular day of his life, unless he is fond of the country ;
and this is but another way of saying that he is fond of farming
or gardening. He buys land, enough for a garden, if not a
farm; he builds a house as tasteful and convenient as his
means will allow ; and to the decoration and improvement of
his place he devotes his leisure time, and a reasonable propor-
tion of the earnings of his business. Tliis new demand for
these surburban retreats causes the price of land to go up with
balloon-like rapidity. Many a farmer wakes up some morning
and finds himself rich, because his farm may be profitably cut
up into house-lots. In the meantime, the energetic merchant
or trader carries on his farm, or cultivates his garden, with the
vigor and enterprise which he puts into his business; and
having the advantage of capital, derived from other sources
than the land itself, the union of the two soon begins to tell.
His barns will be the largest and the best arranged ; his cattle
the sleekest and finest ; his fences the neatest ; his garden the
trimmest. His Alderncy heifers, his Suffolk pigs, his Bartlett
pears, his Baldwin apples, will take prizes at agricultural fairs.
The primitive furmcr, — native to the soil, — whose father and
grandfather were farmers before him, — begins wilh looking
with distrust u[)on his cockney neighbor. He shakes his head
at his improved implements, his mineral manures, his scientific
farming ; he predicts that he will never see his money back
again ; but as the seasons go on, and the returns vindicate the
judiciousness of the new methods, he ceases to ilisparage and
begins to imitate. Ilis somewhat torpid energies are quickened
and animated by the wholesome example that is set him ; his

CULTIVATION OF IIEART'S-EASE. 49

own farm and garden begin to improve, to be more carefully
tilled, and to yield better returns. This process, slowly and
quietly going on in hundreds and thonsands of places at the
same time, begins at length to produce changes in the landscape
itself. I, whose memory goes back many years before the first
railroad was built, never go out of Boston, in any direction,
without being struck with the improvement which has taken
place in domestic architecture, in horticulture, in landscape
gardening, since I was a boy, — witliout being impressed with
the signs of comfort, intelligence and good taste wliich diffuse
over the landscape a sort of moral charm, because they arc the
indications of .valuable traits of mind and attractive qualities of
character. Though a conservative, so called, in politics, I
believe in j)rogress ; I acknowledge it and rejoice in it. I see
that we have made progress, and are making it, in many things.
I am happy that my lot is cast in a progressive land, and that
tlie sunshine of hope lies bright upon tlie future that is before
us. In material comforts, in the arts of life, in the means and
instruments of education, in 'the graces and refinements of
civilization, tlie advances which New England has made during
the last half century, are most remarkable. Who can deny it ?
Who can fail to be thankful for it ?

I have just now briefly touched upon the benefits which agri-
culture lias derived from the gi-owth of commerce and manu-
factures in Massachusetts. Tliis is one department of a subject
which has to me a peculiar interest ; I mean those common
relations and that mutual dependence, which bind together all
the members of a civil society which is organized upon a just
principle, as ours is. We are all God's children ; arid He is a
just as well as a benevolent parent. Whatever benefits one,
benefits all; whatever advances one, advances all. When
sudden changes occur, it may take some little time to adjust
things to tlieir new relations ; but with time all things come
roun>i at last. When railroads began to be built, it was sup-
posed that the demand for horses would be greatly diminished ;
but what has been the result? More horses are employed in
carrying passengers to and from the railway stations than were
formerly required for all the stage coaches in New England.
So some persons fear that that blessed invention, the sewing-
machine, will throw many poor women out of employment; it
7

50 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

may do so for a short time, i)ut, in the long run, more women
will cai'n their bread by sewing-machines than now do by the
needle, and with far less waste of health and strength. Nothing
can bo more false than the notion, that the interests of one
class are opposed to those of another, or that there is any
antagonism between capital and labor, or between the city and
the country ; and nothing can be more ungracious than the
conduct of the man who attempts to set strife between different
portions of the same comnninity, or to persuade this man, or
this body of men, that somebody else is growing rich at his or
their expense, and appropriating what belongs to them.

I have thus far spoken of the relation of man to the soil in
New England, and endeavored to extract from that the motive
and tlie cue for contentment. I now proceed to speak of the
relation of man to the land ; a comprehensive and fruitful
theme, on which, however, I can dwell for only a very few
minutes. In every part of Christendom the traveller sees men
laboring in the fields in spring, summer and autumn. It is
the same thing to outward sense* everywhere, in Great Britain,
France, Italy and America. It is the man and the earth. But
the moral, the immaterial, the intangible elements differ very
widely ; and half the problems in civil society are solved by an
examination into the relations which exist between the man
and the land. In the first place, does he owji the land which
he tills, or is he only a hired laborer ? Secondly, if he owns
the land, under what conditions does he own it?

In England, as is well known, the land is parcelled out into
very large estates. The number of acres in England is 32,342,-
400 ; the number of landed proprietors is about 44,000 ; which
would make the average size of estates about 735 acres. In
Scotland they are larger still. The number of acres is 19,738,-
930, and the number of proprietors is not more than 5,000 ;
which would give each one nearly 4,000 acres. Five nolilemen
own about one-fourth of Scotland. The land is usually let in
large farms, on long leases, to tenants ; and is cultivated by
laborers who earn from twelve to fourteen shillings a week,
and a little more at harvest time. The public sentiment of
England encourages this aggregation of landed property, and
the law allows it. In France, on the other hand, the law-
enacts, and public sentiment sanctions, a minute subdivision of

CULTIVATION OF HEART'S-EASE. 61

land ; and the result is, that full two-thirds of tlic whole French
people are hmd owners ; the average amount to each person
not exceeding thirteen acres.

The comparative advantages of these two systems form a
frequent sulyect of discussion between the political economists
of France and England. These discussions are limited to
a consideration of the productiveness of the land merely, re-
garded as a source, or instrument, of wealth. Bi^this does
not meet all the elements of the case. Political economy
does not and cannot settle all the questions of social and
political life. The amount of wealth you can draw from
the land is one thing ; then comes the proportion in which
it is distributed ; and, lastly, and not the least ini{)ortant,
is the effect of the mode of holding, and the mode of
cultivation, upon the cultivator himself. Man is a more
important product than cattle, or corn, or turnips. That
system of tillage is defective, whatever may he its material
results in the production of food, which degrades the farmer
himseiP A large English estate, in the hands of its propri-
etor, or let on a long lease to a wealthy tenant, — to which all
the resources of capital and all the discoveries of science are
applied, — produces wonderful crops and splendid stock ; but
when you look at the laborer, by whose hands all the work is
done, you will see at what cost these splendid results are pur-
chased. You see the thews and sinews of a man, but little of
that which makes man " the beauty of the world, the paragon
of animals." His form is bent by wasting and crushing toil ;
neither the gleam of intelligence nor the light of hope
illumines his countenance ; his life is a constant and often a
losing struggle for mere subsistence ; for him there is no
future. During ray visit to England, last summer, I visited a
pauper insane asylum in the county of Sussex, an agricultural
county in the south of England. I asked the superintendent
what was the most prevalent cause of insanity among his
patients. After reflecting a few moments, he replied ho did
not think there was any one more common than mere want.
There Was something to me very touching in this simple state-
ment. Nothing can be less sensitive and less impressible than
the mind of an English laborer ; and yet, under the pressure
of hopeless poverty that mind sometimes gives way. The cure

52 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

in pucli cases is simply rest, and a sufficient supply of nutritious
food.

The minute subdivision of land in France lias liad a most
important influence upon the political history of that country,
and an influence l>y no means salutary. The illustrious
Niebuhr, who died in 1831, said: "What can be the end of
the Frendi system of infinite divisibility of the soil, except
general |w^■erty, a struggle between anarchy and despotism,
and the final triumph of that military tyranny of which the
Empire exhibited the frightful perfection." We have lived to
see this remarkable prediction come to pass. This great histo-
rian and haidly less great statesman would have found his
ideal Commonwealth upon the soil of Massachusetts. His
leading political ideas were municipal liberty and self-govern-
ment, and an independent yeomanry, owning the soil they
cultivate.

The relation between man and the soil, in Massachusetts, is
at that happy point which best combines agricultural moduc-
tiveness, with political security and stability. Here men own
the farms which they cultivate, and the farms are of moderate
extent, averaging about a hundred acres, though as a portion
of the mnjority of farms is woodland, the amount actually
under cultivation is somewhat less. The division of our teiri-
tory into farms of this extent, has come naturally, we hardly
know how. It is the growth of the sound, practical sense
of New England, unaided by legislation. The diversity of
employments among us, of which I have before spoken, and
the attractions presented by the fertile fields of the West, have
helped to arrest the process of subdivision, and prevented its
going below a certain point. Our farms are large enougii for
these plans of progressive improvement which give dignity to
agriculture, involving the application of knowledge and the
expenditure of capital ; and yet small enough to leave a
personal relation between the farmer and the land he tills.
Material benefits are not purchased at moral cost. The great
proprietor, who owns a landscape — whose princii)ality is tilled
for him by a little army of laborers — has his affcctiolfs dissi-
pated by the very extent of his possessions. The farmers of
Massachusetts form a class, the value and importance of which
arc hardly felt till they have ceased to exist. In some conn-

CULTIVATION OF HEART'S-EASE. 53

tries of Europe they have ceased to exist ; and their extinction
is regretted by sound j)olitical thinkers as a nli^fln■tune. They
form the basis on which the fabric of social order may be most
securely reared. Tlie spirit of radicalism may erect its menac-
ing crest in our cities and large towns, demagogues may be
loud and voluble wherever crowds can gather to hear them,
but so long as the soil of Massachusetts is occupied by small
proprietors, cultivating the lands they own, we have a conserv-
ative element in our society which may quiet the most uneasy
alarmist. They keep the ship in trim ; and though she may
take a lurch now and then, she will not go over.

And now I liave done all that I proposed to do. I have
presented some considerations which should make the farmers
of Massachusetts contented with their lot. Starting with the
admission that the soil is not of remarkable and exuberant
fertility, I have endeavored to illustrate that great law of
compensation which runs througli the whole sciieme of Divine
Providence, b}' showing that the causes which make the soil
what it is, give us other natural advantages not otherwise to be
had, so that what is lost in one way is gained in another.
And so far as man's relation to the land is concerned, I have
shown — and it is an obvious truth — that the position of the
Massachusetts farmer is one of peculiar dignity and desirable-
ness : I mean peculiar, in comparison with the whole civilized
world. His brethren of the rest of New England, and of the
whole Northern States, generally, share with him in this advan-
tage. And the moral I would draw from my discourse — the
improvement, as an old-fashioned minister would call it — is
this : let the young man who has resolved to become a farmer,
also resolve to stay at home. He will hear wonderful stories
of the boundless fertility of the "West: how the wind of the
level prairie waves the deep-bosomed grain for hundreds and
thousands of acres, and the yellow harvest runs up to the blue
line of the sky ; but let him hear it unmoved. They have no
mountains : they have no sea : the two grand voices of Nature
. are silent there. Those corn-bearing plains are the prose of
earth and not its poetry ; and the imagination languishes and
dies amid those wastes of fertility. From the barren mountains
and the unfurrowed sea, the soul and the mind of man draw
their divinest nutriment. Health, too, will surely be your

54 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

portion here, and may not be there. The soil of Xew England
hides no fatal poison in its bosom: here "the sun sliall not
smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." All the blessings
of civil society are enjoyed here in as large a measure, to say
the least, as any where on earth. Go where you will, you will
be in danger of losing more than you fmd. Here are schools,
and books, and cultivated men and women: here are the meet-
ing-house, the lyceum, the town meeting, the cattle show :
here are good laws and good roads, the spirit of order and the
spirit of })rogress : here is a noble past and an inspiriting
future. Here fix your home : here plant your affections: here
let life's sun and shade ripen you.

FARMS. 55

FA EMS.

ESSEX.

Report of the Committee on Farms.

No entries of farms for premiums, have been made during
the past year, notwithstanding tlie liberal reward offered by the
society. Perhaps it ought hardly to be expected that any pecu-
niary consideration within the means of our association, would
afford a sufficient remuneration for the trouble and time neces-
sary to prepare a suitable account of the business of any one
farm in our county, for the period of twelve months. The
manual labor of agriculture is exhausting. The various duties
of the active and industrious farmer are intricate and absorbing.
The ever changing variety in the- results of agricultural opera-
tions from year to year ; the surprises which occur, under the
hidden influences of nature, an abundant crop here, a scanty
one there, produced by causes beyond man's reach — the disap-
pointments which often follow well-directed industry, the acci-
dents of weatlier, the uncertainties of all animal and vegetable
productions — all combine, we are aware, to discourage the
faithful farmer in his attempts to record the efforts and designs,
and results of the year. We can perhaps hardly expect to
induce our farmers to make such a record, by any pecuniary
reward, which we can offer.

But then there are other motives which should not be forgot-
ten. The first necessity in every successful operation, is a
systematic arrangement of our affairs. It is so in trade, in manu-
factures, in commerce; and from this law agriculture is not
exempt. There is a great deal of tradition, it is true, in farming.
The son remembers his father's mode of tilling the earth, and
has inherited perhaps his father's skill in the care of animals,
and he may be a good farmer. But when he would go beyond
this, he must turn to the recorded operations of others ; and
when he would know exactly how he is progressing himself, he
must find in his own diary and account books, the history of

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

•what he has done from day to day, and from year to year. It
is tliis systematic management, which deveh)ps tlie res-ources of
his farm, by making it a matter of care and study — something
more than the theatre of tedious and reluctant daily toil. And
although success often comes without it, and lailure sometimes
comes without it, still it is one of those means which will stim-
ulate the farmer to new exertion, and will tend to have a great
influence in all his efforts towards prosperity. It is well to know
what a crop costs. It is well to know what method produced
the best crop. It is well to know what crop is most profitable
in every locality. It is well to know how much the farm
returns each year. It is well to know what animals can be
profitably reared and fed. And all this cannot be known
without a faithful and systematic record ; with it, it can be.
And this valuable knowledge is one of the rewards which the
daily record brings to him who makes it.

Of the value of this knowledge to others, it seems hardly
necessary to speak. It constitutes the most valuable literature
of agriculture. The theories and speculations of ingenious
thinkers have their attractions, and they may possibly lead to
good practical results ; but he who lays before us an actual
operation in drainage, he who gives us the results of various
modes of ploughing, he who teaches us from experience the best
method of fertilization, he who records the piocesses by which
his farm has risen from a wilderness into all the luxuriance and
profit of successful agriculture, docs more for his fellow-laborer
on the land, than all the theorists combined can ever hope to
do. He contril)utes genuine wealth to the community in which
he lives. He enrolls himself with the Smiths, and Youngs, and
Mechis, and Tulls — the teachers and guides of agricultural
labor. He alTords that light which will alone guide us through
the dark places of farming, and protect us against those tempta-
tions which in the shape of new inventions, and condensed fer-
tilizers, and recently discovered crops of abundant promise,
beset the farmer on every hand, to lead him away from the
legitimate pursuit of his calling, and make him a prey to every
form of imposture. AVhen we remember that no man can atford
to cultivate an acre of land for nothing, or even to resign it to
a doubtful experiment one year out of the few allotted him
here on earth, should wo not rather learn of him who can tell

FARMS. 57

lis how he has reaped the largest reward, rather than of him
who offers the large promises of Chinese sugar cane, or Hunga-
rian rye grass ? When we know that from a judicious applica-
tion of those manures which in this region every farmer can
collect for himself by the application of ijidustry and economy,
shall we not learn of him who does this work well, rather than
of him who presents us an easier method by which we may
enrich our acres, and would exhaust our soils, and our pockets,
and our patience, with a long list of condensed substitutes for the
fertilizing materials which lie 'all around us ? It is the recorded
operations of skilful and successful farmers, which may teach
lis how far to yield to these temptations, and how far to avoid
them. It is this instruction which our farmers need. And if
one of their number has raised the largest crop of corn, or
cari'ots, or hay, let him teach the rest how it was done, with
what manure, with what land, with what seeding, with what
cultivation. If one has reclaimed swamps and meadows
profitably, let him tell us how, that we may go and do likewise.
These are the teachers, who, if they will, may make an agricul-
tural college out of every farm in our county.

The benefit of every accurate and systematic attempt at
farming in our country is twofold — to him who makes it, and
to those who observe and study it. There is no doubt that men
in Massachusetts cannot pursue with profit the careless and
wholesale modes of agriculture adopted in newer and more
sparsely-settled regions of our country. There are certain
branches of this industry to which our soil and climate are not
adapted, and in which we cannot hope to compete with our
neighbors. We have undoubtedly yet to learn what we caii
most advantageously raise on our land — what is best adapted
to our home market — what is brought into the least competition
with- crops brought from regions better adapted to their pro-
duction. Before the hog crop of Ohio became a staple product
of that great State, the farmer of Massachusetts found it profit-
able to raise and fatten pork. Before the existence of the
present rapid communication between our large cities and the
rich pastures of the West and South-west was established, the
production of beef was a source of large profit to our commu-
nity. But are these things so now? Has it been determined
whether the conversion of crops into beef and pork is the most
8

58 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

profitable mode of disposing of them ? Can the farmer, who
for years has fed his corn and liay to animals fattened on his
own premises, and who has received in this way a fair remu-
neration for his labor, assure yon by figures that he has made
the most posbible out of that corn and hay? A farm, iiuless
entirely neglected, will always pay something, but justice to the
bounteous earth demands that it should be enabled to exert
its largest capacity for the benefit of him who tills it. And
this it cannot do if the labor bestowed uj)on it is scanty or
misdirected. 9

There are in Essex County nearly three thousand farms, and
about one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land improved.
Our agricultural population is peculiarly prosperous. We have
within our limits five large cities, and many thriving villages,
which furnish us with excellent and convenient markets. One
section derives a large annual income from its hay croj), another
from its root crops, another from its dairy, and many from the
garden and the orchard. Our farmers are not behind any
portion of the State in their industry and enterprise. And yet
it is doubtful whether, on the whole, the agricultural interest
of the county is improving. Our pasture lands are deterio-
rating. Our woodlands do not increase in value, in profitable
ratio. Our hay crop docs not increase as it should. Our old
orchards do not renew their youth under kindly care. The
wet lands of the county yield their wretched crop of meadow
hay. just as they did half a ccntuiy ago, instead of smiling
under a burden of sweeter grasses, for the jiroduction of which
they have been warmed by dyking and draining. This ought
ijot to be. At the present price of land per acre, and at the
average price of hay, it is now more profitable to reclaim wet
lands than it is to labor in most of the mechanical occupations,
or to engage in most of the smaller branches of trade-;-not
easier, perhaps, but more surely profitable. Is there any rea-
son why our farmers should not emulate each other in improving
their pasture lands and meadows, and vie with each other in
rendering an accurate account of the expense and profit or loss
of each operation ? These pastures and meadows occupy a
large portion of the county, and may be made a source of large
profit, if carefully and economically improved. Is there any

FARMS. 59

reason why our farmers sliould not learn of each other in this
matter ?

And tlion, again, the selection and care of animals for our
farms ; how much may the farmers of each locality teach each
other in this respect ! With the exception of those farms devoted
to market-gardening, and to small ti-acts of land receiving their
manure from the sea, cattle-husbandry in its various branches
lies at the foundation of our farming. Let every farmer resolve
that he will stock his farm to its utmost capacity — and what
should wo see ? The acre which now yields a ton of hay,
would soon be forced to double that crop, — in the bcginiiiiig
for the cattle, and afterwards by the cattle. That old pasture
now overrun with briars and l)ushes, and capable of feeding
two or three cows, which are oldiged to travel and work for a
living from sunrise to sunset, would soon be called upon to
feed ten times that number, and the expense of reclaiming
would be paid by the cows. Whatever is done upon the land
for the benefit of cattle, always receives its returi^ from the
cattle themselves, if the}' are properly selected and properly
used. What a subject for inquiir and investigatioii is here
opened ! Can we not learn of each other the class of animals
best adapted to our soil — whether for the dairy or shambles ; and
having determined this, may we not arrive by a system of
experiments at the most economical mode of feeding so as to
produce the largest result ?

We were once told that thirty thousand sheep could be fed
in the county, in addition to the stock already kept, without
any appreciable addition to the agricultural expense of the
county. Can this be demonstrated ? There is no doubt of the
profits to be derived from sheep husbandry ; and there is no
doubt of the advantage to be derived to the pastures upon
which they are fed. There seems to be no reason why a care-
ful and systematic experiment of this branch of agriculture
should not be made among us. We live in a region surrounded
by markets for wool and mutton. We have pastures which
need tlie beneficial effects of sheep-feeding. And yet an enter-
prising and public spirited citizen of our county devotes his
time and a portion of his ample means to the introduction
among us of the most approved breed of mutton sheep, now
known in England, and not only are the best of his flocks

GO MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

purchased by farmers in other parts of the State, but tlie choicest
rams imported by him fi'om Oxfordshire, are passed l^y unheeded
at our exhibitions. If there is pi'ofit in sheep husbandry, let
those of our farmers wlio iiave tried it give us the balance made
l)y rearing and feeding ; let tliem ascertain the most profitable
animal to feed, whether fine-woolled or coarse-woolled, whether
Merino, or Cotswold, or Oxfordshire Downs, or South Downs,
or Leicesters. If the profits and advantages of sheep husbandry
are what its advocates assert, there is no reason why three thou-
sand farmers in Essex County should not reap their proportion
of these profits, nor why the three thousand farmers should not
be benefited by these animals.

We have hastily referred to some of the topics in which our
farming community is concerned for the purpose of awakening
if possible an interest in them, sufficient to insure that amount
of experiment and information which always grow out of indus-
try and honest emulation. A well-managed farm — a farm devot-
ed to one crop in the main, or devoted to " mixed husbandry" —
is a study v^orthy of every farmer. The details of a successful
operation in growing corn, or wheat, or rye, or barley, or roots,
or grass, or fruit, are always interesting and profitable ; but
they may be given by a farmer who witli the exception of this
one crop, has come very far short of good farming. His general
system of husbandry may be very deficient. His buildings may
be badly arranged. His manures may be unskilfully aj)plied.
His system of feeding may be careless and extravagant. His
farm accounts may be loose and inaccurate. How much more
valuable, therefore, are the details of a well-conducted farm in
the whole — a statement of the preparation and application of
manures, of the time of planting, of the mode of cultivation,
of the choice of animals, of the profits on the crops, of the
expense of labor, of the method adopted to bring the farm up
to the standard of good agriculture. We would urge upon our
farmers an increased interest in the entry of their farms for
premium, confident that they will derive a benefit from it, com-
pared to which the ])remium is a mere triile, and assuring them
that while they benefit themselves, they will also benefit the
community in which they live. We have many good farmers
among us, skilful, prosperous, thriving men, who manage their
farms well ; and whose example and information ought not to

FARMS. 61

die with them. We trust that another year will find them
carefully recording their operations, and offering them for the
guidance of others.

George B. Loring, Chairman.

HAMPDEN.

Statement of* Dr. Lawson Long.

The farm, the management of which is here detailed, con-
tains thirty-one acres. One acre is occupied by buildings and
yards, seven acres are in tillage, seven in mowing, twelve in
old pasture, and three in new pasture, coming into grass, where
the wood has recently been cut off.

The stock on the farm consists of one farm-horse, weight
twelve hundred pounds, kept up all the year, one family and
business horse, weight one thousand pounds, also kept stalled
all the year, four cows from four to eight years old, and three
heifers two and three years old, stabled every night, and kept
in pasture from the tenth of May to the first of November.

Wc shall manufacture, the present year, thirty-five cords of
composted manure, which is a thorough mixture of all the
liquid and solid manure, with all the straw we raised, used for
bedding cattle, refuse corn butts, etc., mixed with good soil,
and shoveled over five or six times before going into the ground.
The same process is observed as published in the Hampden
County Agricultural Report for 1859. All the manure is put
into the soil, none is used for top-dressing. Our rule is to give
our tillage ground, generally, five cords of compost per acre,
either ploughed in or put in drills. Cabbage, which is followed
by wheat and stocked down to grass, with one peck each of
Timothy and redtop, receives ten cords per acre.

Lot No. 1. Potatoes. — Forty-nine rods of ground following
potatoes second year of tillage. It was ploughed ten inches
April loth, composted in drills, and early " Carters and Jack-
sons " cut and planted, one piece to the hill, one foot apart.
They were hoed twice and dug July 20 to 26, yielding forty-
eight bushels of merchantable potatoes, weighing sixty-nine
pounds to the bushel. They sold for forty-five dollars and

62 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

ninety-six cents. There were also seven busliels of small
potatoes worth two shillings per hu^-hel. Manured again the
last of July, and jdoughed and sowed to flat turnips and stocked
down. The turnip crop is estimated at one hundred and fifty
bushels, which, at one shilling per bushel, is twenty-five dollars.

Lot No. 2. Tillage. — One acre and six rods was in winter
wheat, of the red Mediterranean yariety, following potatoes.
It was ploughed and sowed about the fifteenth of September
with one hundred bushels of refuse gas lime whicli had been
ex|)0sed to the weather two or more years, and stocked down to
grass. It was threshed and cleaned in September, yieldinir, by
measure, thirty-two bui-hels and three pecks, and by weight,
sixty-four pounds to the bushel; making a little over thirty-five
bushels lawful weight.

Lai No. 3. Three-fourths of an acre, second year of tillage
in cal)bage, following corn. Ten cords of compost were
ploughed in, ten inches deep in April. It was ploughed again
in May, and set with " Early York " and " Medium and flat
Dutch;" guano and plaster were mixed and hoed in around
each plant the two first hoeings. Sales to October 11th, seventy
dollars and ninety-seven cents. The lot will bring one hun-
dred and fifty dollars.

Lot No. 4. Potatoes. — One acre and a half, first year of
tillage ; ploughed with double plough, ten inches deep, the turf
being handsomely buried in the bottom of the furrows. It was
manured in drills, five cords to the acre, and planted with
" Jackson," " Child's," "Davis's seedling" and "Lyman's seed-
lings." They were hoed twice, and yielded as follows : —

" Early Jackson's," one bushel of good potatoes to the square
rod ; " Davis's seedling," one and a half bushel to the square
rod ; " Child's," one and a quarter bushel, and the " Lyman's
seedling," about one bushel to tiie square rod. The potatoes
were all measured in two baskets, one weighing sixty-nine
pounds and the other sixty-two pounds per bushel. After
deducting the weight of the basket, one hundred and sixty-nine
bushels sold for ninety-two dollars and thirty cents. Large and
small of all varieties measured three hundred and eleven
bushels.

Lot No. 5. One acre and twenty rods. Spring wheat fol-
lowed cabbage and potatoes, sowed April 7th with fifty bushels

far:iis. 63

refuse lime. On tlie cabbage ground the crop was excellent.
Oil tlic potato ground, which was somewhat shaded by apple
trees, about two-thirds as good. Harvested thirty-three bushels
of wheat, sixty-two pounds to the bushel.

Lot No. 6. One acre in corn. The manure Avas ploughed
in hills three feet apart each way, three stalks in a hill, hoed
three times ; unleached ashes were applied twice. It was esti-
mated to yield sixty bushels of sound corn.

Lot No. 7. Swedish Turnips. — Forty rods manured in
diills, and ridged by turning two furrows together, sowed the
last of June and thinned to stand eight inches apart, estimated
to yield two hundred bushels.

Lot No. 8. Potatoes. — One acre of turf, a part of which
had not been ploughed before on account of surface water. It
was drained with open drains, and ploughed ten inches with
double plough, manui'cd in drills, and planted jMay 20, with
" St. Helena's " and '• Davis's seedlings," cut and planted one
piece to the hill and one foot apart. They were hoed twice,
and tlie weeds cut or pulled a third time. Yield, two hundred
and two bushels good and twenty-four small, by weight two
hundred and forty-six bushels.

Lot No. 9. One-half acre in flat turnips. It is a part of Lot
No. 4, following early potatoes, estimated to yield two hundred
bushels.

MowixG Lands. — Four acres were mowed twice, and estimated
by those who mowed and secured the hay, to yield three tons
per acre the first crop, and one ton per acre the second. On
three acres we cut two and a half tons to the acre. I have
bought meadow grass to the amount of fifteen dollars, about
two acres — mostly swale. I have put three tons in my horse
barn, and filled the other, thirty by thirty-eight, one bay on a
level with the floor, and the other three feet above it — to the
ridge. I think we have twenty-six tons of first quality hay.
I do not know of any spot of foul grass in my meadow land.

Pasture. — My pasture of fifteen acres has been excellent
through the season, and is still good — October 11. From
seven cows we are making at this date, one hundred and
twenty-five pounds of butter per month, besides the sale of all
the milk on Saturdays to the milk-men, and what we use daily
in two families. Our cows are fed with cabbage leaves and

64

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

swedisli turnip leaves for iiiglitly fodder. The pasture lias
annually half a ton of plaster sown upon it. Of fruit we
raise a supply for family use ; of strawberries, several varieties ;
of cherries, raspberries, Bartlett pears, peaches, plums and
grapes ; and in common with every-body the present season,
beautiful ajiplcs in abundance. Of some of these varieties we
have a surplus, as reported in farm accounts.

FARM ACCOUNT.

By 26 tons of hay, at 814, present price, .

1,200 pounds of butter, coiitracted for by the year,

4 quarts of milk per day in our two families,

Milk sold to milk-man, at 4 cents per quart.

Skimmed milk sold in one season, .

68 bushels of wheat, at $)1.75,

4 tons of straw, at $7, .

Cash for potatoes sold, .

400 bushels potatoes in store, .

Corn, supposed to be 60 bushels or more,

Corn fodder, .....

Cabbage, (part sold) will be, .

Pasturing 7 cows 24 weeks, at 50 cents,

1,600 pounds of pork, at 8 cents, .

Spring pigs, sold 8 at 84,

6 on hand, 6 weeks, at 82, (sold) .

60 bushels winter apples, at 50 cents,

200 bushels common apples, at 10 cents.

Grapes, sold, .....

Grape juice for wine, 8 gallons.

Cherries sold, ....

Garden vegetables in families,

Wood sold and used, 30 cords,

200 bushels swedes, and 350 bushels flat turnips.

Poultry,

Calves sold, .....

Cr

8364 00

300

00

58

40

50

00

100

00

119

00

28

00

142

30

200

00

50

00

14

00

150

00

84

00

128

00

32

00

12

00

30

00

20

00

7

00

16

00

12

00

30

00

150

00

91

40

20

00

7

00

,215 10

FARMS.

65

Dr.

To int'st on money invested for farm, 14,000,

240

00

" " " in stock,

$300,

18

00

Labor of one man, and board, .

, .

240

00

" woman, and board.

,

100

00

1 hired man and board, .

.

144

00

1 boy's help and board,

.

30

00

Taxes,

.

15

17

Shingling tenant's house, .

.

30

00

1 bag guano, ....

.

4

60

Half ton of plaster, .

.

4

00

Grass seed, ....

. .

3

00

Grass bought, ....

.

15

00

Salt,

.

3

00

35 cords manure compost, one-half si

ipposed

to improve land.

.

70

00

Interest on tools and incidentals,

•

20

00

1936 67

Balance in favor of farm,
HOLYOKE, October, 11, 1800.

.,278 43

Statement of A. L. McKinstry.

The farm which I enter for the three years' premium, is
situated in the town of Chicopee, and contains about sixty acres
of land. Of these, twenty-four are in a good state of cultivation.
A large portion of the balance is low and wet, producing bog
grass. The upland portions from long continued close pasturing
are not very productive. Thus much for the present condition
of the farm, though perhaps the best index is the amount of
the crops raised the present year.

6 acres grass, 10 tons, (measured) at $12,

corn, 320 bushels, (measured) at 80 cents,
corn stover, 10 tons, (estimated) at $7,
potatoes, 328 bushels, sold for
rye, 52 bushels, at 80 cents,
oats, 60 bushels, at 50 cents,
tobacco, 2,000 pounds, (estimated) at 10 cents
turnips, 957 bushels, at 10 cents,
9 #

81

8i

2

^
1

91

. $120 00

. 256

00

70

00

. 135

35

41

60

30

00

its, 200

00

95

70

66

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

^ acre carrots, 345 bus., (50 lbs. to the bus.) at 30 cts. $103 50
I " parsnips, 160 bushels, at 40 cents, . . 64 00
j " Hubbard squashes, 2,000 pounds, 1.1 cents, . 30 00
1 " cabbage, 2,500 heads, (merchantable) at 3 cents, 75 00

30 barrels apples, at $1, 30 00

1,003 lbs. butter, made since Istof May,sold for 24 cts., 255 12
1,000 quarts milk, sold for 4 cents, . . . . 40 00

Skim milk fed to calves, 41 00

" " pigs, 32 00

322 dozen eggs, sold for 20 cents, . . . . 64 40
60 chickens, at 30 cents, . . . . . 18 00

Deduct hired labor, board not included,
one man, one year, ....

Deduct hired labor, one man, 8 months, .
" " boy, 6 months,

" " woman, one year, .

" grain used, . . . . .

$1,701 67

$126 00

120

00

24

00

75

00

75

00

490 00

^Zi\J V\/

Profit,

L,281 67

No allowance is made in this account for the labor of myself
and wife, or for the board of hired help, taxes, &c.

In addition to the crops enumerated above, there have been
raised two acres of sowed corn, which, together with small
potatoes, pumpkins, &c., were fed to stock in summer and fall,
of which no account has been made ; neither has any account
been made of the milk and cream consumed by a family of
eight persons. The team work on the farm has been performed
by one horse, with the exception of the ploughing, to assist in
which I have exchanged labor with a neighbor.

Eleven cows and one yearling heifer comprise the neat stock
on the premises, which are managed as follows : —

In the summer they are pastured, but stabled at night, being
confined by stanchions upon a platform, with a trench in the
rear which is supplied each day with dry muck. Managed in
this way no fodder is wasted, the cows are kept clean, the
manure is all saved under cover till used. During the past
year, the amount manufactured in this way has been about one

FARMS. 67

liuiidred cords. In winter the food for the stock consists of
cut hay and corn fodder mixed witli scalded meal, to which is
added a liberal supply of roots. The amount of butter in one
year has been two thousand and two pounds, which, allowing
one cow for the use of the family, makes about two hundred
pounds per cow.

The poultry account stands thus : — Eighty hens of different
varieties — the Black Spanish predominating and preferred —
have been kept. The number of eggs produced in one year,
four hundred and ninety-six dozen. Sixty chickens have been
raised, which, together with the eggs, make the sum of one
hundred and seventeen dollars and twenty cents. Their food
has been corn and oats, at a cost of forty-six dollars ; one
barrel of bone-dust has been used, which adds two dollars and
fifty cents to the expense. A profit is left of sixty-eight dollars
and fifty cents.

In the statement which follows, stating the labor expended on
each crop, ten hours has been considered a day's work, at one
dollar per day. The same has also been charged for the labor of
a horse, which has been introduced whenever it was practicable.

Oats. — One acre was sown April 10th, with three bushels of
seed per acre. Harvested sixty bushels. Allowing the straw
to pay for the threshing, the expense for labor would be seven
dollars, or about twelve cents per bushel.

Corn. — This crop was raised in three separate fields, planted
in rows four feet apart with the hills three feet.

Lot No. 1 was on the plains. Twenty dollars worth of fish
guano was applied to three acres ; planted May 22d. Twenty-
four days' labor were required to cultivate the crop till it was
ready to cut up. Allowing the fodder to pay for cutting up
and husking, the cost of labor is eight dollars per acre, or
thirty-two cents ^er bushel for the corn.

Lot No. 2, containing four acres, was manured in the drill
with fifteen cords of stable manure. The amount of labor per
acre till the time of cutting up was eleven days. The amount
of corn per acre was about forty-five bushels, produced at a
cost of twenty-five cents per bushel.

Lot No. 3, containing one and one-fourth acre, was manured
at the rate of ten cords per acre, spread broadcast and ploughed
under. The yield of corn was at the rate of sixty bushels per

68 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

acre, raised at a cost of sixteen days' labor, or about twenty-six
cents per bushel.

Potatoes. — Dovers were planted on one acre. After plough-
ing, the drills were made with a double mould board plough,
three feet apart ; potatoes which were too small for table use
were then dropped one foot apart ; tobacco stalks cut into six
inch pieces were then dropped, to which was then added a
slight sprinkling of ashes, plaster and salt. The whole was then
covered by running the plough between the rows ; a bush harrow
was then passed over the piece, which left the field nearly level.
When the potatoes were three or four inches high, all but four
of the stalks in each hill were pulled out. Seventeen days'
labor were required to complete the work. The result was one
hundred and seventy-five bushels of potatoes, at about ten cents
per bushel.

Davis Seedlings were planted on one acre in the same man-
ner as the preceding, with the exception that the land was
manured with the tobacco stalks which grew on two acres.
Thirteen days' labor finished the cultivation and harvesting of
this crop, raised at an expense of about six cents per bushel.
One row left without manure showed a deficiency of crop
amounting to twenty-five bushels per acre, as compared with
the other rows.

Carrots. — Half an acre was manured at the rate of fifteen
cords per acre. The carrots were sown in drills three feet
apart, May 14th. Harvested three hundred and forty-five
bushels, weighing fifty pounds per bushel, at an expense of
twenty days' labor, or about six cents per bushel.

Parsnips. — Half an acre was manured at the rate of ten
cords per acre. Sowed May 14th in drills three feet apart.
Harvested one hundred and sixty bushels a^ an expense of
eighteen days' labor, or a cost of about eleven cents per bushel.

Turnips. — Two and a half acres were sown on rye .stubble,
from July 2yth to August 7th. The drills were made three
feet apart, and manure at the rate of four cords per acre was
applied in the drill. The seed was sown on this by hand, and
covered with a hoe. The after cultivation was thinning and
hoeing, using the harrow and cultivator when necessary. To
one acre of the above a mixture of super-phosphate, ashes and
plaster was applied in the drill to the value of about eight

FARMS. 69

dollars, in the place of stable manure. The yield on this was
four hundred bushels. On the whole piece it was nine hundred
and fifty-seven bushels, costing three and three-fourth cents
per bushel.

Cabbage. — One acre was manured in the drill with five cords
of fine manure. The plants were set two and a half by four
feet. Twenty-five hundred heads of merchantable cabbage was
raised, at an expense of thirteen days' labor.

Tobacco. — One and one-eighth acres received fifteen cords of
manure per acre. Commenced setting June IGth, in rows three
feet by two. Labor, not including the stripping, forty-eight
days. Amount of crop, by estimation, two thousand pounds,
costing, before stripping, nearly two and a half cents per pound.

Chicopee, December 1, 1860.

NORFOLK.

Report of the Supervisory Committee.

The Supervisory Committee, in pursuance of their duties,
visited some farms in the county during the past season, but
owing to the engagements of some of the members, were not
able to make as extensive observations as they otherwise might
have done.

The farm of Hon. Josiah Quincy, of Quincy, now in the occu-
pancy of his son, Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr., consists of 500 acres,
about one-half of which is woodland. It came into the posses-
sion of the first American ancestor of the family, Edmund
Quincy, direct from the Indians, in 1636. It comprises a por-
tion of what was the favorite corn-ground of the tribe from which
the name of our Commonwealth was derived, and what was the
home (so far as a savage can be said to have had a home) of
Chickatabot, the reigning chief of " the Massachusetts " at the
time of the first settlement of the English in the neighborhood.
Here, too, was the cemetery of the tribe, or, at least, one of the
places where they interred their dead. Their bones are not
unfrequently disturbed by the processes incident to the civiliza-
tion wliich has swept away these " native Americans," and left
scarcely an outward mark of their existei^e.

70 MASSACnUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Tlie committee liad the pleasure of an interview witli the
venerable proprietor of this farm, who, at the age of nearly
ninety years, retains a good degree of the interest he has always
felt in agricultural improvement. He informed us that the
dwelling in which he resides, was built by his grandfather in
1760 ; that he began agricultural operations here in 1797. The
long and beautiful avenue of trees leading from the highway to
the house, which attracts the attention of every passer-by, was
planted by him. He built the principal barn on the farm in
1808. For many years it was regarded as the best in the State,
and is yet well worthy of examination, both on account of the
convenience of the original plan, and the extensive accommoda-
tions it affords through additions which have been made. It
will hold two hundred tons of hay and shelter one hundred
cattle. Mr. Quincy early turned his attention to the keeping of
live stock on the soiling system, and in 181-1 adopted it for all the
stock kept o!i the farm. Many of the results of his great expe-
rience on this subject are embodied in an essay which he kindly
furnished for the Transactions of this Society for 1852, and iu
a previous essay published in the Journal of the Massachusetts
Society for Promoting Agriculture for 1820 ; both of Avhich,
with other observations, are comprised in a work prepared by
him in 1859, entitled " Essays on the Soiling of Cattle, Illus-
trated from Experience ; and an Address containing Sugges-
tions which may be useful to Farmers." It may be safely
assumed that Mr. Quincy has done more than any other man to
introduce the soiling system into this country.

As before stated, the farm is now managed by Mr. Quincy,
Jr., who pursues essentially the system formerly followed by his
lather. His principal object is the production of milk, which is
taken to Boston, — the price, at the barn, per can of eight and a
half quarts, being twenty-eight cents in summer and thirty-six
cents in winter. He keeps seventy-two cows. At the time of
our visit, 26th of July, fifty-four cans of milk (of the size just
mentioned) were obtained daily. But we cannot state the
length of time the cows had been in milk, or their nearness to
calving, which, of course, affect the quantity they would give.
The mode of feeding was as follows : once a day on hay, twice
on green fodder, and once on chopped hay with two quarts of
cotton-seed meal to each cow, — the meal mixed with the hay.

FARMS. 71

The green fodder was cornstalks, clover and tares, — the latter
being tried by way of experiment. The crop was a fair one,
and will probably induce a repetition of it, which may settle the
question of its adaptability to this purpose in this country. It
is highly valued in England as a green forage crop. Water is
brought to the barn by the action of a hydraulic ram, and con-
veyed to a trough in the manger of the cows. They, therefore,
take all their food and drink in the barn, but are turned into a
yard four hours a day. They appeared to be in good health
and condition. The operation of spaying had been performed
on several of the herd, but time enough had not since passed to
show its precise results.

Muck is mixed with the manure of the cows, by placing it
daily in a trench in the rear of the platform on which they
stand, — the quantity of muck being about equal in bulk to the
manure. The mass is deposited in the barn cellar till wanted
for use. It is mainly applied as a top-dressing for grass. It is
proper to mention, in this connection, that Mr. Quincy had been
experimenting with McDougall's Disinfecting Powder, — a sub-
stance prepared in England for the purpose of destroying offen-
sive odors in stables and other places, and also for the purpose
of preventing the escape of fertilizing matter in manures. The
cow-stables where the powder had been sprinkled, were entirely
free from smell. It may be mentioned, also, as a fact within
the knowledge of some of the members of the committee, that
this powder has been used with excellent effect in several large
livery stables in Boston. Other experiments have also been
made with it, which show that it possesses very valuable disin-
fecting powers.

Tlie absence of interior fences, which were abolished upwards
of forty years ago, on Mr. Quincy's farm, give it a park-like and
agreeable aspect. It is, as has already been remarked, chiefly
in grass, most of which is cut with a mowing machine, —
Manny's, with "Wood's improvement, being used with good
success.

The committee understood from Mr. Quincy, that in his
farming operations he was endeavoring to ascertain whether
the business can be made profitable, — whether a gentleman can
invest money in it with a reasonable certainty of realizing a
fair return. "We are gratified that a gentleman of Mr. Quincy's

72 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

means, intelligence and energy, should have engaged so
earnestly in the solution of this problem. As he had, at the
time of our visit, conducted the business, in its present form,
only ten months, he could not be expected to exhibit his
balance-sheet. "When sufficient time has passed for the results
to assume a reliable form, it is to be hoped he will present them
to the public, as, in any event, they can hardly fail to be useful
as an example.

The farm of H. N. Glover, Quincy, both in regard to the
condition and arrangements of the buildings, and the division
and cultivation of the land, presents a good example of order
and NEATNESS, those fundamental principles of good farming.
Mr. Glover invited us to look at a piece of marsh land, from which
he had shut out the sea by a substantial dike. Below the dike
are sluices, fitted with gates, which allow tlie water from the
reclaimed land to escape, but prevent the inward flow of the
tide. When the improvement of this land was commenced, it
was, in most respects, like ordinary salt marsh, and had been
so from the earliest account to be had of it ; yet it is filled with
stumps of various species of trees. No one has any knowledge
in regard to the time when these trees were standing ; but it is
evident that they grew when the ground was free from the
action of salt water. From the appearance of the surrounding
land, it seems probable that a high bar formerly protected the
marsh from the sea, but that by some unusual force the waves
broke through, destroyed the trees, and ciianged the general
character of the vegetation. Although this was done, perhaps,
hundreds of years ago, the roots of the trees imbedded in the
marsh are still perfectly sound.

In the fall of 1859, Mr. Glover planted cranberries on a portion
of this reclaimed marsh. Of course, there has not been suffi-
cient time for the plants to establish tlicmselvcs. At present
there is nothing discouraging in their appearance, and the
public will be interested in the progress and result of this
attempt to convert a salt marsh into a cranberry meadow.

On the farm of Lemuel Billings, Quincy, the committee saw a
six-acre field of corn which promised a large yield. Mr. Billings
has generally had marked success with this crop. The land is

FARMS. 73

prepared for it by spreading seven cords of cow mamire to the
acre and ploughing it i-n. The hind is warm and rather light.
He cultivates carrots to some extent, which are fed to cows ;
has sometimes obtained twenty tons to the acre. We passed
over some of his grass land, where tlie crop had been cut with
Russell's one-horse mowing machine, which Mr. Billings has
used for several years. The woi-k was done perfectly, — excelling
in neatness, and the amount of the crop obtained, the ordinary
work of the scythe. Mr. J3illings has also used the sdme ma-
chine, to considerable extent, in cutting salt grass. As it runs on
two wheels, the rims of which may bo of any desired width, it
readily passes over ground that is quite soft, and on which the
horse requires to be shod with rackets ; but with this protection
there is no difficulty in cutting the grass on almost any part of
the marsh, and it has sometimes been well cut when it was, to
some extent, flooded by the tide.

Hon. Charles Francis Adams, of Quincy, is one of our largest
landholders, owning in various farms in this town, about one
thousand acres. His residence is that which was his Auhcr's
and grandfather's — John Quincy Adams and John Adams,
former Presidents of the United States. The birthplace of the
latter distinguished gentlemen we shall have occasion to men-
tion as we proceed with our remarks. The committee were
gratified to see many fine and some rare species of trees,
which were planted by the ancestors of the present proprietor,
and not less gratified at the sight of others, which under his
own direction, have added beauty and interest to the place.
Several acres of land, lying on each side of a fine stream of
water, have within a few years been converted from an
unsightly waste to a beautiful meadow, producing largo crops
of good iiay.

But Mr. Adams's principal farming operations are at Mount
Wollaston, under the superintendence of his son. Tiie farm
consists of about four hundred acres. It is delightfully situated
in regard to the view from it of Boston harbor with its numerous
islands, and the surrounding country. It comprises the cele-
brated eminence on which Morton, that " pestilent fellow " to
the Puritan settlers, established himself. Standing on the
top of the " Merry Mount," and casting our eyes over the
10

74 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

picturesque scene of land and water, we could but admire the
taste which led that gay adventurer to select this spot as his
residence.

The soil of tlie farm is mostly warm, and readily produces
fine crops of Indian corn and rye, and in moist seasons, heavy
crops of clover and grass. At the time of our visit, a second
crop of clover was being cut from a field of twenty acres.
Several of the committee expressed the opinion that they had
never seen a better second crop of clover — the yield being esti-
mated at a ton to the acre. The first crop had been much
heavier. Both crops, as well as most of the hay crop of the
farm, had been cut with the Buckeye mowing machine, the
operation of which gave much satisfaction.

The live stock of the farm consists of about fifty head, most
of which are cows, the milk from them being sent to Boston.
The cows have generally been selected from the common stock
•of the country, but a few Ayrshires have latterly been kept, the
products of which have been such as to induce Mr. Adams to
ti*y the blood more extensively. He purchased in 1859 the
Ayrshire bull Troon, imported the previous year by the Massa-
chusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, and is rearing
several heifers, the progeny of this bull from selected cows of
the herd.

The barns on the farm are commodious and convenient.
The stock is not kept at the barns, except in the winter season,
being pastured in summer. Much of the fodder is cut for the
stock — a two-horse endless chain power, by which threshing
and other work may be performed, operating the cutter.

At another part of the town, near Braintree, the committee
called at another of ^\v. Adams's farms — one on which stands
the ancient mansion (ancient for our country) in which the
two Presidents, John and John Quincy Adams, were born. Its
style of architecture by no means agrees with the fashion of this
generation, but it is still in good condition, and under the man-
agement of a neat New England housewife, its interior presents
an appearance of comfort which may often be sought in vain in
more modcrii and pretentious dwellings.

This farm, consisting of about two hundred acres, has been
leased for several years to ]\[r. Charles A. Spear, whose man-
agement presents such au example of the profits of farming as

FARMS. 75

is seldom seen in this country. He pays a rent which is con-
sidered equal to a fair interest on the value of the farm — not,
of course, what some of it might be worth for house-lots — and
makes for himself a satisfactory profit — thus making tenant
farming profitable to both landlord and tenant. By the
improvement of some portions of the farm and greatly increas-
ing the growth of grass, he has been enabled to more than
double the number of cattle kept. The improvements have
been expensive, but have still been made to pay. On some
boggy and wet lands, which were formerly actually worthless,
so far as regards the production of a crop, he lias expended one
hundred dollars per acre in drainage and covering witli earth —
mostly gravel — yet it has for five years paid the interest of more
than two hundred dollars an acre. It has produced an average
of more than three tons (at two cuttings) of good hay to the
acre each season. The produce of the farm is converted chiefly
into milk.

The farm of Jacob F. Eaton, Quincy, consists of forty acres,
all of which, except an acre and a half, is adapted to tillage. It
is a milk farm, and the number of cows and other stock kept, is
unusually large in proportion to the extent of land — being
twenty-nine head of cattle and eight horses. The farm has
produced all the fodder required for wintering this stock, with
the addition of forty dollars' worth of grass bought, and the
salt grass of ten acres of marsh. Besides this, it has afforded
summer forage sufiicient to half support this large stock. The
cattle are pastured on a tract that only yields about half grass
enough for their support, and they arc therefore fed at night,
in the barn, with green corn.

For winter fodder, ^Ir. Eaton relies much on barley, cut in
the milk and dried. The barley hay is run through a cutting
machine, and cotton-seed cake or meal is mixed with it at the
rate of two quarts per cow, morning and evening. The cows
get one foddering of salt hay and one of upland hay, imcut,
each day. This is found to be a good mode of feeding. The
cotton-seed meal has been used for several months, and Mr.
Eaton is well pleased with it. Tlie cattle were in excellent
health and condition, in December, when our notes were taken.
He formerly fed with brewers' grains to much extent, paying

76 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

ten cents a busliel for them, whicli lie tliought cheap; but
latterly, by a change in the brewers' process — the grains being
cut to pieces — the nutriment is nearly all taken out, and
though but eight cents a bushel is the price, Mr. Eaton thinks
them entirely too dear at that.

During the last season, Mr. Eaton has kept one hundred and
thirty-five hogs, which are fed on the swill collected by the city
of Boston. An important object in the keeping of these hogs,
is the increase of manure, to be used in increasing the products
of the farm. He top-dresses grass land with ten to fifteen ox-
cart loads of manure to the acre, and for tillage crops manures
much heavier — sometimes, as for roots, and Indian corn, as
high as forty loads to the acre. The root crop is chiefly carrots,
"which are fed mostly to horses, at the rate of six or seven quarts
to each horse per day.

We have said that an acre and a half of Mr. Eaton's farm is
not subject to tillage. It is devoted to a more profitable pur-
pose, as it pi'oduces three good crops annually — two in summer
and one in winter — the latter, probably, the most profitable.
The two summer crops are hay, and the winter crop is ice. In
answer to our inquiry as to the effect of winter flowage on the
hay crop, Mr. Eaton stated that the crop had rather increased
in quantity, and that the quality had not deteriorated. It is
not unlikely that the high manuring of some of the surround-
ing land may have had an influence in these results. We
should add, that ]\[r. Eaton bought this farm eight years ago,
giving three hundred dollars an acre for some of it, and that it
did not then produce hay enough to keep ten cows.

The farm of J. W. Robertson, Quincy, adjoins that of ^Ir.
Eaton, before noticed. The homestead consists of about seventy
acres. lie keeps about forty head of cattle — all cows, except
one or sometimes two yoke of oxen — and seven horses. The
main object is milk. He has one hundred and forty hogs, which
are fed on Boston swill. We should state that most of the
hogs kept by ^Ir. Robertson and JMr. Eaton have been bought
at Brighton Market ; but !Mr. Robertson is making the experi-
ment of rearing some. Ills mode of feeding stock is similar to
that followed by ^Ir. Eaton, except that he uses Indian corn
meal instead of cotton-seed. His premises, like those of his

FARMS. 77

ncigl\bor, Mr. Eaton, present an attractive appearance in regard
to the character and good condition of the buildings, fences,
and the general neatness observed in all parts.

Before dismissing the town of Quincy, it is proper that
we should notice another product for which it is somewhat
famous. When a gentleman belonging lo one of the Southern
States inquired what were tiie export articles of Massachu-
setts, he was answered by a distinguished member of this
society, " Granite and Ice." It is not our purpose to enter
at large on the value of either of these products, but the
prominence which this town has always maintained in the
granite business, justify a few remarks in regard to its im-
portance.

By the kindness of Messrs. Thomas Ilollis and George Pen-
niman, we are enabled to give some interesting facts in regard
to the origin and importance of the quarrying of granite in
this neighborhood. The first building of note for \Yhich the
Quincy granite was used, was King's Chapel, in Boston, erected
in 1749, the stone of which it was built having been " picked
up" in the woods. It was not quarried, — the splitting of
stone by wedges being then unknown or not practiced here.
Boulders were broken by hammers to such an extent as was
practicable for obtaining pieces of the desired size. The first
quarrying was in procuring the stone of which the State Prison
at Charlcstown was built, in 1815 (?). About this time the
light-colored granite from Chelmsford, Concord, N. II., <tc.,
began to be used for building in Boston to considerable extent.
In 1817 the old Dedham jail was built of Quincy granite, and
this may be taken as the date of the commencement of the
quarrying business. Fashion turned from the light-colored in
favor of what is called the blue granite. The Leverett Street
Jail, Boston, was built of it in 1820, and a large demand for
the article soon sprung up. In 1825 the Granite Railway
Company, Col. Thomas H. Perkins, president, was incorpo-
rated. This association built, in 1826, the railroad leading
from the quarry to tide water, for the purpose of taking stone
to boats and larger craft. This was the first railroad in New
England, and probably the first on which iron rails were laid
in the United States. The Bunker Hill Monument Association
owned what was called the Bunker Hill Quarry, to which the

78 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

railroad was extended, and from which the stone for the first
forty feet of the monument was taken. This quarry is now
owned by the Granite Railway Company, which is still exten-
sively engaged in quarrying and dressing stone. No less than
eight other companies arc now similarly engaged in this town.
They give employment to six hundred men, in quarrying,
hammering, <tc., whose average wages are -$500 a year — making
an aggregate annual disbursement of i'SOOjOOO. Probably the
sum which has been paid for labor at the quarries during the
last ten years, has not been less than 83,000,000. If this
amount had been obtained for gold or silver, it would have
produced an excitement in the country. The supply of stone
is apparently inexhaustible. It is valued in the quarry at one
cent per cubic foot. When the Granite Railway Company
purcliased their land here, they paid about 840 an acre for the
greater part; but for the quarry proper, they paid 81,000 an
acre. Tlie deeper the quarry is worked, the better is the
quality of the stone.

Among the noted buildings which have been built of the
Quincy granite, are the Custom House, Merchants' Exchange,
and Court House, Boston ; Custom Houses of New Orleans,
Mobile, Providence and Portland. Exchange, and Astor House,
New York. The celebrated Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor,
was also built of this stone. The noble rows of stores on
Commercial Street, Franklin Street, and in other parts of
Boston, built of this material, attract the attention of every
visitor to the city, and are acknowledged to be unsurpassed in
appearance in this or any other country. Some trials which
have lately been made in sculpturing the Quincy granite,
show that it is susceptible of being worked with good effect.
Monuments of ornamental character have been wrought from
it, and the success which has attended the attempts to use it
for such purposes has been such, that arrangements have been
made to carry on this branch to considerable extent.

The Granite Railway Company employ five or six yoke of
oxen in work about the quarries. They are of the largest size
that can be obtained, though it is necessary that they should
unite a good degree of activity and energy with great strength.
We have never seen finer oxen of tliis class, than several
of those shown us by Mr. Penniman. They cost 8150 to

FARMS. 79

$200 per yoke ; are so "well fed that they would make good
beef at any time ; are worked about three years on tlie aver-
age, when, with a little additional feeding, and a short term
of rest, they are sol'd to the butcher for about the amount
of the first cost. They are fed chiefly with Indian corn
meal and hay.

Several places were visited in West Roxbury. Arthur W.
Austin, of this town has a farm of seventy-two acres — thirty-
one of which, however, have been added during the last year.
All the buildings have been erected by Mr. Austin, who has
resided here for fourteen years. He has made striking improve-
ments. His first object was to enclose the land with a perma-
nent fence, which has been erected in the shape of very handsome
faced wall, of so solid and substantial a character, that his
heirs and successors, to remote generations, will hardly have
occasion to touch a stone for the purpose of repair. The
materials of which the wall was built were obtained on the
land, and consisted chiefly of boulders of pudding-stone, the
removal of which was necessary to render the soil readily
workable by the plough. There were several acres of wet
meadow on a border of the farm, besides several wet spots in
the upland. The meadow has been drained and brought into
the cultivated grasses, producing two heavy crops of hay in a
season. Some of the other wet spots have, by digging out a
portion of the soil, been converted into reservoirs for water —
drains conveying to them the surplus water of the surrounding
land. Several of these sheets of water are already formed,
and a much larger one will be made by excavating the rich
muck from -a spot on the tract lately purchased. They add
much to the beauty of the place, occupied as they are by num-
bers of water fowl — swans, various species, and several varieties
of geese, several species of wild ducks, and esteemed domestic
breeds.

Fruit trees have been planted to a considerable extent, and
have succeeded well. The fine collection of apples presented by
Mr. Austin at the last exhibition of this society, will be remem-
bered. Our attention was attracted by a piece of corn, which
several of the committee considered very heavy, and promising
the largest yield of any they had seen the present year.

80 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Mr. Austin has lately imported from Ireland specimens of
the celebrated Kerry breed of cattle. As he favored tlie society
and the public with a sight of them, and of several other fine
catllc belonging to him, at the last annual" exhibition — a report
in regard to which will be found in another part of the Tran-
sactions for this year — wc Jieed not more particularly notice
them. We may add, however, that the committee were much
pleased with the appearance of these cattle, and regard Mr.
Austin as entitled to the thanks of the community for testing
their adaptal/ility to the wants of our farmers. They were im-
ported in November, 1859, and July, 18(30, and as none of them
have yet come to milk, we must wait for a demonstration in
regard to tiieir dairy qualities. They have thriven rapidly since
their arrival. They are believed to be the only pure specimens
of the breed that have been brought to this country.

Charles A. Ilewlns, of West Roxbury, has four acres of land
which may with as much propriety be called a " farm" as Miss
Martineau's or any other person's premises, of the same extent.
He has occupied the place for five ycars' — has erected a house,
wiiich for convenience combined with architectural taste, attained
by a moderate expenditure, is worthy of examination. Though
doing business in Boston, where he spends the greater part of
every woiking day, he takes time to direct the management of
the place, and finds recreation, healtii and happiness in the
various rural operations which are here carried on. The land
is near the summit of a high swell, has a tenacious subsoil, and
retains water. Mv. Hcvvins has iinderdrained a portion, on
which he has planted fruit trees of various kinds, and they have
thriven well. We have seldom seen finer dwarf pear trees, or
those which produced better crops of fruit, in proportion to age,
than we hnind here. Many will recollect Mr. Hewins as a fre-
quent and successful competitor for the fruit prizes of this
society. The committee were much pleased with the general
laying out and universally neat appearance of this " farm of
four acres," which, whatever its results in a pecuniary view, can
hardly fail to pa?/ in the enjoyment it affords its intelligent
proprietor and iiis family.

E. R. Andrews, of West Roxbury, has a farm of one hundred
and twenty acres, twenty-five of which is woodland. It is used

FARMS. 81

as a milk farm, thirty cows being generally kept. They are fed
mostly in the barn, at all times. He relies on green corn-fodder,
chiefly, as feed in summer, and hay and roots in winter. He
had eight acres in fodder corn and ten in roots, at the time of
our visit. He had also a patch of rape, tried as an experiment.
Its appearance was pretty good, but we cannot report the result.
Some of his root crops — which consisted of carrots, sugar beets,
mangold wurzel, and kohl rabi — looked well for a large yield,
but the wetness of the season had rendered it difficult to keep
the weeds down as fully as would have been desirable for the
benefit of the roots.

Mr. Andrews' mode of cultivating fodder corn is somewhat
peculiar. After being ploughed, the ground is furrowed, leaving
spaces of about three feet. The cultivator or horse-hoe is then
drawn lengthwise over these spaces, and the corn sown at the
rate of three to four bushels per acre. A light plough is then
run on each side of the beds, followed by a bush harrow in the
same direction, which sufficiently covers the corn. This leaves
the crop in broad rows, and it is cultivated with the horse-hoe.
Once going through — as the corn, from the land being heavily
manured, grows rapidly — is generally sufficient.

Mr. Andrews has made some experiments in spaying cows,
having operated on thirteen. He commenced in April, 1859,
with three ; most of the others were operated on six to eight
months previous to. our visit, at which time ten of the spayed
ones were giving milk. Several others had been fattened and
sold. All those we saw, appeared healthy and in good condi-
tion. Two which were spayed a year ago last April, were
giving an average of seven wine quarts of milk each, per day.
These, of course, afford the best example of the effect of spay-
ing, as the others have not had so long a trial. But it is hardly
probable that any of the cows which Mr. Andrews has operated
on, will show the effects of spaying to the best advantage. They
were generally too old when operated on — many of them being
ten years or more. Still Mr. Andrews is confident that those first
operated on give more milk by the year than they did previous
to being spayed. As to the quality of the milk, there has been
no opportunity of testing it ; it goes in with that of the other
cows and is sold in Boston. Mr. Andrews thinks that by spaying
good cows at five or six years old, an average of eight quarts
11

82 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

of milk a day could be had by the year. He is determined to
follow the experiment till he can know, with a good degree of
certainty, what are its advantages. "We may add that the
French, who were probably the first to try this operation on
cows in milk, claim that — " The yield of milk is not only supe-
rior with spayed cows, and not only is the fattening of these
animals quicker, more easy and complete, but the milk will
return a third more in butter and cheese, and the flesh is more
succulent, tender, and more thoroughly penetrated with fat."

Mr. Andrews purchased last Spring the superior Ayrshire bull
Albert, imported from Scotland in 1858, by the Massachusetts
Society for Promoting Agriculture. His object is to rear some
heifers produced by some of his best cows and this bull. Several
of the cows from which he intends to breed, are very good, both
as to size, shape, and actual produce of milk — some of them
gave from fifty to sixty pounds of milk a day during the months
of April and May last. It is hardly to be doubted that valuable
dairy stock may be obtained from the proposed cross.

Hazen & Whittier, on a portion of what was the Keith farm.
West Roxbury, showed us a very handsome field of corn, as
also did James Hunt, on another part of the same farm.

George G. North, West Roxbury, owns the Jersey bull
Marmion, which has taken the first prize of this society. Mr.
North carries on farming successfully, but we had not the op-
portunity to examine his crops, which were at some distance
from his residence.

T. G. Why tal, West Roxbury, has extensive green-houses and
graperies, the surrounding ground being devoted to the cultiva-
tion of fruits and flowers. A walk through the establishment
showed us that it was well kcjjt, and that the fruits and plants
indicated the hand of skilful culture.

Jeremiah Pritchard, West Roxbury, has one of the first grape-
houses, on the " cold " plan, that was ever built in this country.
From the hasty glance we took at it, the fruit appeared to be
abundant and o f fine quality. Mr. Pritchard has been a suc-
cessful competitor at the shows of this society, for the premiums

FARMS. 83

on grapes and other fruits. We were struck with the neatness
of the grass ground about Mr. Pritchard's house and garden.
The sod was shaved with great nicety, and we were not a little
surprised when told that the work was done with a scythe.
"We call attention to this matter, because it is one on which the
good appearance of a place very much depends.

Joseph M. Underwood, West Roxbury, showed us, in his
buildings, garden, and surrounding grounds, what might be
pronounced an example of perfect neatness. In the stable and
other out-houses, nothing could be seen, so far as the eyes of
the committee extended — and they went through every depart-
ment— that could be moved or altered for the better. Even the
microscopic eye of the fly, could not have discovered a spider's
web. The garden may be said to have been free from every
thing that it was not intended should grow, and the products
were luxuriant.

Quincy A. Shaw is quite extensively engaged, at West Rox-
bury, in breeding horses. He has erected a commodious stable,
tasteful in its exterior, and combining in its interior the prin-
cipal conveniences to be found in the best structures of the kind
in this country or Europe. He has several fine specimens of
the English race-horse, among which are the stallion Balrownie
and the mare Comfort, with several of their progeny. We saw
here, also, the noted trotting mare Lady Sutton, with a beau-
tiful Balrownie filly by her side, and other fine stock of various
ages.

On the 15th of August a delegation from the committee
attended the festival of the Franklin Farmers' Club, which was
held in the Town Hall, Franklin. No one familiar with the
exhibitions of the Norfolk Agricultural Society, can have failed
to notice the prominent position, in various departments, occu-
pied by the citizens of Franklin. Their zeal in the cause of
agricultural improvement, prompted the organization of this
Club, which was effected in January, 18G0, and has thus far
been eminently useful. Meetings have been held regularly, in
the winter season, for lectures and discussions on agricultural
topics. Subjects for experiment are assigned to different mem-

84 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

bers, the results of which are reported to the Club. From the
record of the secretary, we learu that the subjects thus assigned
for the last year, were — Drainage, Ploughing in Green Crops,
Charcoal as a Fertilizer, Salt for the Destruction of Insects,
Bones as Manure for Pear Trees, Relative Value of Bones,
Pliosphate of Lime, Plaster, &c., for different crops.

We are not aware that the reports on these subjects have
yet been made public. If the experiments were properly
conducted, the results could not fail to be interesting and
valuable. We would suggest that they be' reported for the
Transactions of this society, in order that the public may
know the conclusions arrived at, and the manner in which the
experiments were conducted. We would suggest, also, that
the experiments be repeated from year to year, until a suc-
cession of results may indicate a reliable solution of the
questions involved.

About two hundred persons, comprising the members of the
Club with their families and invited guests of both sexes,
attended the festival alluded to. The company partook of a
substantial dinner, after which appropriate speeches were made
by various gentlemen — the exercises being agreeably inter-
spersed with rural songs. The occasion was a pleasant, and
we trust, a profitable one, to all present.

The committee may here say that they have great confidence
in the usefulness of farmers' clubs, under judicious manage-
ment. Their advantages have long been acknowledged in
England and Scotland — some of the most important improve-
ments in agriculture in those countries, having originated with
these associations. In our own country they have not been
numerous till within a few years, but their benefits are already
apparent. We need not enter into an argument to show hoiu
they tend to improve the " soil and the mind " — the fact
is obvious to all who properly consider the subject. We would
suggest to the society the expediency of offering special encour-
agement to farmers' clubs, by a premium to such as should
exhibit proof of having brought out the most valuable results,
in the solution of questions, the suggestion or attainment of
improvements, or in any way eliciting light in the various
departments of agriculture.

FARMS. 85

On leaving the table at tlie festival above spoken of, the
company was invited to look at some improvements of land by
C. L. Metcalf, a member of tlic Club. The land comprises
several acres lying on both sides of a brook, a portion of it
having, till lately, been considered " poor old pasture." and the
remainder being more or less boggy. The price paid for the
tract, about three years ago, was ten dollars an acre. Ditches
have been cut around and through a portion of the bog; on the
softest parts gravel has been spread, the surface smoothed, and
grass seed sowed, with a dressing of two hundred and fifty pounds
of Peruvian guano to the acre. The first so prepared has been
mowed twice, in 1859 and '60 — though it has had only one appli-
cation of guano. The last crop was estimated at three tons to the
acre, but may have been somewhat overrated, as it is well
known that crops on low land are not as heavy in proportion
to their bulk as upland hay ; but the luxuriant growth of the
second crop, — which at the time of the visit of the committee
promised to be heavy, — indicated that the first crop must have
been correspondingly large. No manure has been applied,
except one dressing of guano, as above mentioned. On
another part of the bog, the surface was taken off in 1859, two
inches of coarse sand spread on, and grass seed sown in
September, that year. A fair crop of hay, probably a ton to
the acre, was taken from the land in 1860. We noticed that the
land seemed soft, and that the water in the ditches was in many
instances within a foot of the surface. Unless the wat<3r can
be kept down so as to afford a greater depth of dry soil, it will
hardly be practicable to secure the growth of upland grasses
for a long time, or obtain hay of the best quality.

On a portion of tlie upland, Mr. Metcalf has tried irrigation.
By damming a small rivulet, he was enabled to take the water
along a hill-side and throw it over considerable land, a part of
which was in clover and a part in redtop and Timothy. The
effect, he states, was highly advantageous, both on the clover
and grass. His practice was to let on the water two days and
shut it off two, through the months of April and May — would
continue it into June, if the weather should be very dry. Mr.
Metcalf is an earnest advocate for irrigation, and has found out,
what some are slow to understand, that all irrigated land
should be ivell drained, either naturally or by underdraius.

86 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

These improvements are evidently of a character that pay,
though more time is required to enable us to fix their precise
value. "We are pleased to learn that Mr. Metcalf is al)out to
apply irrigation on a larger scale, and we hope he will give the
society the results.

We may add that there is no sul)ject of greater importance
to jthe farmer than irrigation. Although its advantages were
set forth in strong terms in the report of the committee for
1859, we deem it proper to call attention to it. There is no
mode of improvement that can be adopted with such great
results in proportion to the expense, as this ; and yet, strange
as it is, none is so much neglected in this country. The fertil-
izing power of water seems almost wholly overlooked. In
other countries irrigation is much resorted to, and even in this
country we are not wholly without examples, which like that
of Mr. Metcalf, demonstrate its advantages. It should be
remembered that all the fertility, all the produce, obtained by
water, is clear gain — nothing else is diminished or in any way
injured by it. It is to be hoped that attention may be awak-
ened to this important subject, and that the water which is
now wasted may soon be made to produce crops worth to the
country millions of dollars annually.

William Metcalf, Franklin, has made some experiments in
the cultivation of forest trees. It was the intention of some of
the members of this committee to have visited his plantation ,
but circumstances prevented. Some of the members of the
society's committee having charge of this subject, examined
the trees, and will, probably, report on them. In a call at Mr.
Metcalf's residence for a few moments, — which was all the time
at our disposal, — we saw that he was entering considerably into
grape cultivation. The varieties adopted were mostly the best
wild ones, though the Concord, Diana, and others are culti-
vated. The vines are not yet fully established, but appear to
be doing well, and produced considerable fruit last season,
unfavorable as it was.

S. W. Richardson, Franklin, president of the Farmers' Club,
has made some improvements on his farm which are worthy
of notice. Much of his land lies on the side of a considerable

FARMS. 87

swell, and the soil is made cold and sour by a soak of water,
while the subsoil has an almost impenetrable "hard-pan,"
formed by a deposit of iron. In this condition of the soil and
subsoil, nothing of much value would grow; the land was
overrun with low shrubs, intermingled with rushes and other
aquatic vegetation. Some trials which were made in drainage
a few years ago, indicated that it was very beneficial to this land,
and Mr. Richardson has lately gone into the business on a larger
and more systematic scale. A piece of wild pasture, hitherto
almost wholly unproductive, was drained in the wettest spots,
ploughed and planted to Indian corn last spring, — a portion
manured with two hundred pounds '^f super-phosphate of lime,
and another portion with the same quantity of ground bones
to the acre, applied in the hill at the time of planting. A
good crop of corn — estimated at forty bushels to the acre —
was obtained. The manures used seemed to hasten the
growth and maturity of the corn, for though it was what
might be called frosty land, the crop was all sound and
of the best quality. On a small portion of the field, wood
ashes and plaster were used, in consequence of the super-
phosphate and bones having been expended. The same value
per acre was used of the ashes and plaster as had been
used of the other articles. The result was very strikingly
in favor of the super-phosphate and bones, as was shown by
portions of the crop where all the articles were applied, being
standing at the time of our visit. The crop was not only
lighter where ashes and plaster were used, but it was not so
well ripened.

Mr. Richardson has now dug ditches, at distances of about
two rods, on another lot, and will complete the drains before the
opening of another season. The ditches are about two and a
half feet deep, and about a foot in depth of small stones forms
the drains. Mr. Richardson has not tried tiles, as stones arc
very abundant on his land. We would suggest that tiles laid in
one of the ditches — stones being used on either side — would
settle the question as to which will best answer the purpose,
without much expense.

The general appearance of Mr. Richardson's farm indicates
that the owner believes in progress. Besides the improvements
above spoken of, he is turning his attention to the culture of

88 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

fruit ; has a handsome young apple orchard, fine young pear
trees, &c., and various kinds of grapes. Some fine specimens
of the Catawba, very well ripened, showed the favorable char-
acter of the locality for the growth of this fruit. He showed
us a handsome sample of Java spring wheat, of which he raised
the past season twenty-eight bushels to the acre. His barn is
convenient, and kept in neat order. There is a cellar under the
whole, and much attention is paid to the saving of manure,
though Mr. Richardson considers himself under a disadvantage
in having no muck on his farm. The top soil, where walls
arc built, and the coarse grass, from wet places, are used as
absorbents of urine.

The committee regard it as not beyond the sphere of their
legitimate duties to notice some improvements, which, though
they differ from those elsewhere spoken of in this report, are
deemed of considerable importance. A few years since, Eli-
phalet Stone, of Dedham, sold to Irish and German laborers,
portions of a tract of land, most of which had been considered
of very poor quality for agricultural purposes. It is situated
near Mill Village, and most of the purchasers are operatives in
the manufactories there. The lots sold vary from a quarter
of an acre to an acre, and the price paid was from ^1 00 to $oOO
an acre, — the latter price referring to lots very favorably situ-
ated. Cheap, but decent cottages have been erected. Colonel
Stone having, in most cases, assisted the purchasers in build-
ing, and they have improved the land chiefly for the production
of vegetables. It has been a matter of no little interest to
witness the success which has attended these operations in
" cottage gardening." They have presented an answer, in
part, to the question sometimes asked, — How can land be
improved when there is no capital to begin with ? These cot-
tagers started with only such means of fertilizing their land
as their families, and, perhaps, a pig, afforded. It was but
a small spot that could be made productive at first, but the
produce of this enabled them to increase the means of fer-
tilizing a larger breadth. They produce most of the vege-
tables needed in their families, and a surplus which would
feed another pig, or aid in supporting a cow, — thus increasing
their quantity of manure, and enabling them to till more

FARMS. 89

land, or increase the production of that before taken up. So
they have gone on, and have produced crops, — particularly
cabbages, — which would do no discredit to the best soil in the
county.

"We learn from Colonel Stone, that they have generally paid
for the .land, and seem encouraged to go on with its improve-
ment. Their interest in the soil stimulates them to industry —
they improve the leisure hours, which might otherwise be
misspent, in increasing the productiveness and value of tkeir
possessions, — their interest in our country and its institutions
is strengthened, and the effect on them, and on other citizens,
is every way salutary and beneficial. It seems probable that
a similar plan of making the operatives in manufactories
interested in the land, might be advantageously adopted in
many instances. It would give to such establishments a class
of laborers that could be relied on, at the same time that it
would afford to the laborers themselves a strong stimulus to
faithfulness.

In Dorchester the Committee visited Hon. Marshall P.
Wilder, president of the society. Our visit was on the last
day of August, a season of the year which enabled us to examine
with advantage the results of his extensive and long-continued
labors in the production of fruits. It would have required
more time than we had at our disposal to particularly notice all
his operations, and we therefore confined our observations to
the homestead, comprising thirteen acres, almost exclusively
devoted to friiit and ornamental trees and plants. In the fruit
department, the collection of pears, and in that of ornamental
plants, the camellia particularly attracted our attention, as
both have a reputation second to no similar collections in the
country. It is well known that to these Mr. Wilder has devoted
a long period of study and care, and is still engaged Avitli the
same earnestness that has characterized his previous efforts.

The collection of pears embraces about eight hundred varie-
ties. Of these he has twenty-five hundred trees specially
designed to produce fruit for market, and they are grafted
with the most approved sorts for that purpose. As an evidence
of Mr. Wilder's views in regard tosucli sorts, we may state that
he has worked about 400 Beurre d'Anjou, 200 BufTum, 200
12

90 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Doj'eniu'- Boussock, 200 Bartlett, and the balance about equally
wilh Urbaniste, Merriani, Louise bonne de Jersey, Belle Lucra-
tive, Flemish Beauty, Beurre Bosc, Yicar of "Winkfield,
Lawrence, Winter Nelis, &c.

To this collection of pears, amounting, as before stated, to
about eioht hundred varieties, now on trial, there are-annually
numerous additions, which Mr. Wilder receives through his cor-
res[)ondence with the various European and American societies
of. which he is a member. More than half the pear trees were
originally grafted on the quince stock. These are all planted
deep enough to cover three or four inches of the pear stock, —
a system adopted by Mr. Wilder more than a quarter of a century
ago, and to which he believes he is indebted for the great
success which has attended this branch of his cultivation. By
this method, the quince stock is protected from the borer,
is kept soft, swells and keeps pace with the pear stock in its
growth, and the latter frequently throws out roots. A large
proportion of the pear trees are of the pyramidal form, and
furnished with bearing branches to the bottom. As an evidence
of his complete success with pears on quince stocks, he showed
us trees of the Urbaniste w^hich were but fifteen years old, and
which had each borne a barrel of fine pears in a year. They
were more than twenty feet high, and had borne fruit for
twelve years. Their appearance at the time of our visit,
loaded as they were with fruit of the finest character, elicited
numerous exclamations of admiration. Trees were pointed
out to ns of the same variety on tiie pear stock, growing in the
same square, and planted at the same time, which had never
yielded a bushel of pears.

Li relation to the cultivation of the ground for fruits, Mr.
Wilder adheres to the opinion he has several times expressed
in his addresses, on the necessity of thorough drainage and
proper preparation of the soil. He considers these requisites
of absolute importance for the production of fine flavored pears.
He advocates surface manuring; protests against the use of
fresh manure, the digging or ploughing deeply among fruit
trees, and abjures reliance on circles dug around trees as a
method of culture. The following extract from his last
address before the xVracrican Pomological Society, presents his
views on this point, which we regard as so important as to

FARMS. 91

justify the space tlicy here occupy. After objectiug to the
cultivation of any other crop among fruit trees, he remarks: —
" Equally injurious, in my own opinion, is the habit of deep
digging or ploughing among fruit trees, thereby cutting off the
roots, and destroying tlie fibrous feeders, whicli frequently
extend beyond the sweep of Ihe branches. However necessary
the practice may be of cutting oif roots in old orchards, in the
process of renovation, it should be carefully avoided in grounds
properly prepared, and where the trees are in a healthy or
bearing condition. From experiment and observation, 1 am
persuaded that working the soil among fruit trees, to the depth
of more than three or four inches, should be carefully avoided.
The surface should only be worked with a hoe, or scarifier, for
the purpose of stirring the soil, and keeping out the weeds. Tiius
we avail ourselves of the advantages of what, in farming, is called
flat-culture, at present so popular. For the same reason manure
should not be dug in to any considerable depth, and some of our
wisest cultivators now recommend its application on the surface.
So favorably impressed with this practice is the Massachusetts
Board of Agriculture, that it has ordered a series of experi-
ments with cereal grains and other products in the application
of manures on the surface as compared- with specified depths
beneath it. The practice of surface manuring is no novelty of
our day. An eminent cultivator of fruits, nearly two hundred
years ago, said, ' Manures should be applied to fruit trees in
the autumn upon the surface, that the rains, snow, and frosts
may convey the elements of fertility to the roots ; ' and ' that,
by this method, one load will do more good than two used in
the common way of trenching in to the depth of one foot.'
Other distinguished cultivators and scientific gentlemen recom-
mend the same practice. Hence we are of opinion that our
orchards and gardens should be manured in the autumn, and
on the surface, so that the manures may be thoroughly decom-
posed, made soluble during tlie fall and winter, and suitable
for the nourishment of the tree early in the spring. In the
history of this art, as of most others, it is wonderful how
human opinions change. What were once considered as funda-
mental, are now rejected as unphilosophical or injurious, and
those once rejected are now adopted as wise maxims. The
doctrine has prevailed, from the time of Columella and Yarro,

92 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

that manures should not Ijc exposed to the air, but should be
incorporated with the soil as soon as laid out ; whereas, we
have now the opinion of cultivators and chemists in favor of
exj)Osure to the air and other external agents of decomposi-
tion, and that it is not a source of nutrition to the plant, until
it is thoroughly decomposed. This opinion is certainly corrobo-
rated by the practice of skilful gardeners in all past time, who
will never use green manure in the potting or cultivation of
plants, and only that which has become old and fine."

Although Mr. Wilder seeks for all the novelties of the
orchard, his experience long since led him to the belief that we
must look to our own seedlings, as a general rule, for the fruits
best adapted to our location. His maxim is — " Plant the most
mature and j^erfect seed of the most hardij, vigorous and valu-
able varieties, and, as a shorter process, insuring more certain
and satisfactory results, cross or hybridize your best fruits J'

Acting under this impression he has a large number of
seedling pears which have been produced from the best sorts in
his collection, some of which have already borne fruit. His
method of hastening their progress, is to engraft the seedling
wlicn it is only a year old, on a strong, thrifty branch, or on a
mature stock. We saw shoots of these more than two feet in
length, from seeds that had been sown the previous year. By
this process the seedlings attain a strong, vigorous habit, and
have plump, mature buds. These are then worked on the
quince stock, which brings them early into a bearing state.
Although Mr. Wilder advises the sowing of seeds which have
not been artificially impregnated, yet he would encourage the
crossing of the best varieties, where the cultivator has time,
patience, and skill, the result of which will be more certain
and expeditious. As an illustration of this principle, we may
point to the great success of Mr. Wilder more than twenty
years ago, in the application of this delicate and beautiful art
to the hybridization of the Camellia, and by which he obtained
the celebrated varieties of C. AVilderii and Mrs. Abby Wilder,
and others which have not been surpassed to this day.

Mr. Wilder showed us, also, a large number of seedling,
grape-vines which had been produced by the process of cross-
ing. Some of these are expected to show fruit next year. He
entertains the opinion that no country is better adapted to the

FARMS. 93

extensive cultivation of the grape than our own, and that it is
only a question of time when we shall have varieties adapted
to almost every locality.

As before remarked, the committee liad not time to exam-
ine, as they would have been gratified to do, Mr. Wilder's
nurseries and farming lands, of which he has about fifty acres
in addition to the homestead. In a field near the garden we saw
the fine half-blood Jersey cows, which Mr. Wilder has several
times exhibited at the shows of this society, where they have
been justly admired. It is seldom that cows are met with in
any breed, that present so many points of merit as these, and
we can hardly suppress the wish that Mr. Wilder should carry
out with them and their offspring, the same principles whose
results he has so strikingly exhibited in various plants pro-
duced by crossing.

Wellesley Place, the country residence of Hollis H. Hunne-
well, at AVest Needham, was visited by the committee on the
3d of August. It consists of about six hundred acres, includ-
ing the beautiful lake Waban. On the southerly side of this
is located the splendid mansion of Mr. Hunnewell, with the
ornamental grounds. A few years ago, the larger portion of
this place was covered with the natural growth of forest trees.
Now it presents one of the best specimens of landscape garden-
ing in New England. Mr. Hunnewell retained, in the laying
out of this place, as many of the original trees as possible, and
through these, the broad and well-turned avenues lead to the
house and over the grounds. Interspersed among the native
trees, and in belts along the broad walks, are planted specimens
of all the popular trees and shrubs, both those of our own and
other countries, that will endure the climate. From either
side of his princely dwelling, — whether from the front, across
the extensive green and velvet-like lawn, or from the rear,
over the glassy mirror of lake Waban, or the interesting vistas
which here and there open to the eye, — the views are charming
and in good keeping with a correct taste for landscape gar-
dening.

Although this place is more noted for its forest trees and
shrubs than for fruits, his collection of the latter, botli for open
culture and under glass, will bear favorable comparison with

94 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

the best ill the vicinity. His grapes, nectarines, peaches, and
strawberries, have seldom been surpassed.

In farming, Mr. Hunnewcll is one of our most enterprising,
though not one of our most extensive farmers, if we except
liay, of which he cuts one of the Largest crops in the county.
Every thing he attempts is done well — a fact visible in every
department. In farm stock and implements he has the best
of their kind, and among the former were particularly notice-
able his fine Jersey and half-bred Jersey stock.

We must, however, speak more particularly of the great efforts
Mr. Ilunnewell has made to introduce both old and new varieties
of forest trees and shrubs, with a view to testuig their adapta-
tion to our latitude. Among the forest trees there are many
fine specimens of the oak, elm, asli, beech, maple, magnolia, &c.
He has also given great attention to evergreens, of which he has
rare and beautiful sorts, which promise to become hardy with
us. Such are the Piniis cxcelsa, P. cembra, P. Benthamiana
P. Lambert iana, P. Ponderosa ; the Plcea pinsapo, P. Nord'
maniatia, P. nob His ; the Thuja g-ig-anlea, T. borealis ; the
Cvpressus Laivsimiana; Abies pi/rainidalis ; Taxodiiiiu pen-
dula; Juniperus cricoides, and other coniferous trees. We must
not omit the magnificent Norway spruces and white pines, pro-
fusely planted along the roads and over the grounds, nor the
masses of choice shrubs which are grouped here and there
under the trees and in the occasional openings. Here are the
the Aiulromedas, the Azaleas, tho PJiododendrons, the Kafmias,
3Iu/iu)iias, Hollies, <fec. Here too is found, in a separate depart-
ment, a collection of trees and shrubs with variegated foliage,
such as the Striped-leaved Negundo, Silver-striped Oak, Beech,
&c. Near the house was a very showy bed of tropical plants,
which are to be Removed to the green-house for the winter.
This was called a jungle, and contained plants of the bamboo,
banana, canna, &c. The greatest curiosity was the Italian
garden with its evergreens neatly cut into fantastic shapes,
standing like sentinels at regular intervals on the parapeted
walls or terraces of the grounds.

On the whole, we know of no more interesting place in the
vicinity of Boston, none where such rapid strides have been
made in the acquisition of beautiful and rare things, or in the
judicious planting and care of them.

FARMS. 95

In concluding their remarks on Mv. Hnnnewell's place, the
committee tender their thanks to him for his coui'tesies, and to
his superintendents, Messrs. Hollis and Harris, for kind atten-
tions.

Sanford Howard.

PLYMOUTH.

Supplement to Report on Farms.

In accordance with a promise made in my last year's report,
I have spent what time I have had at my disposal in visiting
different parts of the county, for the purpose of becoming more
intimately acquainted with its agricultural interests, in order
to report any generally useful information that might be derived
from an examination of the best farms in the various districts
of our county.

I must confess that a limited acquaintance with the soil of
Plymouth had impressed me very unfavorably as to its capaci-
ties for agricultural purposes ; but a larger information has
modified this opinion very considerably. It is curious to observe
that the poorest portions of our county have been under culti-
vation for two hundred years, and the richest are still in a state
of nature. Poor land is most easily cleared of its trees and
underbrush, and the first settlers choose those portions Avhich
can be soonest made available ; and where our fathers, a century
or more ago, made their hasty homes, we still continue to
struggle to live, leaving the almost inexhaustible soil of our
swamps and low-lands to be redeemed by the greater skill and
larger hitelligence of the future.

Among the efforts to reclaim swamp land, that of Mr. Robert
Perkins, of Bridgewater, seems more deserving of notice than
any I have observed during the last year. He has cleared
about three acres, which, in the early part of last summer, were
covered with large trees and close underbrush. Now the land
seems as if it may have been cultivated for years, so thoroughly
is every stone, stump, and root removed. So far as clearing off
the timber is concerned, no swamp could cost more per acre
than this. The draining, however, Avas easily accomplished.
I am sorry that I cannot give the exact expense — about a hun-

96 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

dred dollars per acre, I believe. This cost may be too great ;
wlietlier such labor can be accomplished for less, remains a
problem for Yankee brains and Irish muscle to solve.

There is a great deficiency of good pasturage in our county,
with the exception of Hull and Hingham, which are quite
favored in this respect ; indeed, greener fields than those among
the rocky liills and valleys of Hhigham are seldom seen. This
fact renders cattle-feeding possible there. Many farmers, no
doubt, are engaged in this business, but I have visited only two,
Hon. Albert Fearing and Mr. A. C. Hersey. These gentlemen
own large farms, and feeling the necessity of greater supplies
of manure, each purchases between twenty and thirty bullocks,
two or three years old, in the autumn, feeds out during winter
all the products of the farm, hay, roots, and grain, pastures the
cattle the following summer, and sells again in the fall. In
order to pay, they think the cattle must double in value in one
year. Tliey are amateurs in agriculture, owning farms in the
city of Boston, which, it is to be presumed, are more profitable
than those in Hingham. It would doubtless be interesting to
others who have to win their bread from the soil, to know how
much, if any thing, the farms in the city contribute towards
the support of those in the country.

I visited another farm in Plingham, which interested me
much, not from its superiority to ma)iy others that I saw, but
from the fact that it was won by the hardest knocks, from the
most rugged nature, by the man who owns it, Mr. Charles A.
Gushing ; his house, barn and farm are an honor to him.
During the day I spent in Hingham, by the kindness of friends,
I was enabled to see more agricultural improvement than I
could have seen, in the same time, in any other part of tlie
county. It is true, much of this is what is called fancy farm-
ing, but the mission of fancy farmers is a worthy one, to make
costly experiments which poor men cannot make and to adorn
the earth.

The farms of the Bridgewaters present, in many places, a
very good appearance from the road, but for want of exact
information, I cannot speak of any one of them in detail. It
is evident, however, to tlie casual observer, that the soil has
never produced what it is capable of doing, and only awaits
greater intelligence in the cultivators, to become a garden.

FARMS. 97

The farm of Mr. J. Copeland, of West Bi-idgewater, is remark-
able for tlie quantity of hay it produces, about one hundred
tons annually.

Mr. Nahum SnelFs farm is beautifully located, with one of
the finest and most picturesque meadows fringed with trees and
shrubs, that I have ever seen. While the farms of Thomas
Ames, and of the brothers Jonathan and Eldridge Howard of
West Bridgewater, show good cultivation, and are well worthy
of a visit. Mr. Ames's crop of barley this year, and the rye
of the Messrs. Howard, show what can be done at a profit in
Plymouth County.

I never pass the farm of Mr. A. Covington, of Middlebor-
ough, withovit stopping to admire its fine appearance. It is
disfigured by no barren spots, no rocks nor stones. The surface
is sufficiently undulating to give it variety, and to drain off all
superfluous water. All the fences and buildings are in good
order ; the cattle and sheep in fine condition, and the crops
must be abundant.

I am more particularly acquainted with the agriculture of
Plymouth, and the more I know of it the sadder I become.
Nature was not prodigal towards us in the beginning, and two
hundred years of unintelligent cultivation have reduced the
soil to unproductive sand. Our fields are brown when they
ought to be green, fit only, it seems to me, for sheep pastures.
Yet, in the midst of this general desolation, there are some
indications of improvement. Many of us have become aware
of our deficiencies, and a very few have set about correcting
mistakes. Among those who have taken a step forward, I know
none more worthy of success than the brothers Wm. S. and J.
Hadaway, of Cliiltonville. These two young men, without any
other capital than a few worn out acres of land and the tough
muscles and active brains with which nature has endowed them,
have struck out a path of improvement for themselves with so
much vigor and economy, that a few years must place them in
advance of many of the most favored cultivators of the soil. 1
do not wish to intimate that their farm is, at present, in a high
state of cultivation ; it is only remarkable when the circum-
stances of its owners are considered. Their experiince is par-
ticularly valuable to tliose who live on the coast, as they have
obtained almost all the manure which they have used, not from

13

98 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

the Ijarnyard, but from the sea. They have made themselves
an excellent scow ; raked the harbor for muscles ; scraped the
rocks for rockweed, and gathered kelp from the shore. I
requested Mr. "Wm. S. Iladaway to make a statement of their
summer's work, which he kindly consented to do, and I think
I cannot do better than give it almost entire.

" Our farm," says he, " consists of 113| acres, 73 of which
are woodland and commons, 27 pasture, 8 mowing land, 5]-
tilling.

" Stock kept — 1 horse, 4 cows, 1 heifer, 1 hog and 12 hens.

" Crops grown — corn, two and one-half acres ; turnips, one
acre ; potatoes, one-half acre ; barley, one-half acre ; carrots,
one-half acre ; squashes, one-quarter acre ; cabbage, and other
vegetables, one-quarter acre.

" Manures used — stable, menhaden, muscles, rock-weed and
salt.

"About forty tons of muscles were ploughed under, for corn,
in old pasture which was very light and barren, excepting
about one acre which was formerly used by the Indians, to
judge from the quantity of shells. On this part the corn grew
exceedingly well, and was judged to have sixty bushels shelled
corn. The other part being poor land it grew slowly until tlie
roots found the muscles, when it changed color and grew
remarkably well, but, owing to early frosts, did not do well.
The whole piece gave one hundred bushels sound corn, and
twenty bushels soft. For the turnips, twelve tons of rock-weed
■were ploughed under ; the crop amounted to two hundred and
twenty-five bushels. I consider fifty tons of rock-weed neces-
sary to secure a good crop from an acre. I intended to use
that amount, but the severe storms in June damaged our scow,
and made us late in using our small quantity.

" The barley and potatoes were manured with twenty loads
of barnyard manure and five bushels of oily salt. The potatoes
measured one hundred and thirty bushels. They were planted
in drills, and those that were planted tlie deepest were freest
from rot. The l)arlcy yielded about ten bushels, but was quite
salt — so much so, tliat when made into bread, it was quite
unpalataljlc. Perhai)s others have noticed the same results,
but it is a singular fact to me.

FARMS. 99

" The carrots were mruiured with menhaden and barn ma-
nure, but did not come up well — yielded three tons, with
twenty-five bushels turnips and ten bushels beets, where the
carrots missed.

" The squashes were manured with menhaden and barn
manure — yielded three tons, with forty bushels turnips between
the rows. I used the shell fish known as horse-shoes, to repel
bugs — put four around each hill, and we had no trouble with
the bugs.

" For cabbages, I used menhaden and salt, but I cannot tell
how many I obtained. They were remarkably large.

" I have raised some broccoli and Brussels sprouts ; the
latter I would not recommend, as they take up too much room
for their quality.

*' I have raised, also, some Kohl rabi, but do not think
this vegetable fit for human food, but it will do very well
for cattle. It will keep longer, I think, than any other veg-
etable.

" I have tried muscles for beets and beans — the beets grew
to a monstrous size, but the beans did not do very well. I
have tried rock-weed and Irish moss for grass ; the former
gave very good crops ; the latter did not do much. I have
seen the good effects of rock-weed on grass for three years.
I think menhaden mixed with muck a very valuable manure ;
but for heavy land I prefer fish separately. I value sea-trash
in proportion to the rock-weed it contains. I mix it with
barn manure. I think it might be used profitably, if we had
large, flat-bottomed boats to bring it from the Gurnet. It
seems to me that it is not worth one dollar a ton, but I be-
lieve it can be brought here at a profit to the farmer and
carrier."

Farmers on the seaboard have many advantages over those
in the interior, and it is very surprising that these advan-
tages have not, till recently, been generally recognized by
those, even, whose farms run down to the water's edge. A
greater activity, however, can be observed every year in care-
fully collecting what the sea throws on the shore ; but there
are other resources which have not yet been turned to account.
No farmers along the coast show more zeal in the use of sea-
manure than those of Manomet Ponds, a district which occu-

100 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

pics a space al)oiit two miles square, all of which is under
fence. This area is divided into small farms, owned by
men whose forefathers, in the times of the earliest settlers,
cultivated the same soil. They are a pains-taking, econom-
ical, thrifty race of farmers, who are always sure to reap
where they have sown, because they never sow more than
they can take good care of. Their crops are not various —
almost confined to grass and corn. It is for their cultivation
of the latter, I think they deserve special credit. They
apply kelp in the fall to land that has been in grass for
some years, and plough it under in the spring. The corn
is planted in hills three and a half to four feet apart, culti-
vated and hoed thoroughly, and the yield varies from forty
to seventy bushels per acre. Mr. Truman Holmes seems
to enjoy the reputation of generally having the best field
of corn. I visited him in September, and saw a fine field,
which, it was thought, would yield seventy bushels to the
acre. He says about one hundred and twenty horse-loads
of kelp must be applied, in order to get seventy bushels to
the acre.

There is a small meadow in the town of Sandwich, in which
I have been very much interested this season, having visited
it three times. The product of this field is so enormous, that
I should hesitate to state it, if I had not, in company with the
president of the society, had the account confirmed by various
disinterested persons who live in the immediate vicinity, and
seem to be well acquainted with the facts of the case. The
field is owned by Mr. William E. Boyden, and consists of four
acres of low land, adjoining salt marsh, surface drained, and
is always kept in the most productive condition by the most
liberal application of manure. Mr. Boyden keeps a livery
stable, containing, sometimes, fifteen horses, together Avith
those of transient customers. All the manure of this stable,
for a series of years, has been applied to this meadow. The
man who has carted it out told me it generally amounted to
about one hundred and twenty-five horse-loads. It must be
remembered, this is unmixed manure, from corn-fed animals.
The manure is applied, I believe, twice in the season — in
November, and just after the first mowing. Of course the
crop of hay, after such a dressing, must be large. It is well

RECLAIMED MEADOWS. 101

known to liis neighbors, that Mr. Boyden purchases no liay
except a little salt hay for his sheep. The manner of ascer-
taining the amount of the crop, it must be confessed, is not
entirely satisfactory. Three or four loads are weighed, and
the rest estimated. I visited Sandwich just after the first
mowing, this season, and was informed by Mr. Boyden that
the crop of hay amounted to twenty-five tons, a statement
which was confirmed, with very little variation, by all who
were concerned in getting in the hay. Before the second
crop was cut, twelve tons were expected, but upon my third
visit, I learned that it was only seven, a report that pleased
me very much, for I was really afraid to have it any more.
This is not the produce of one remarkable season ; I have
every reason to believe that about thirty-two tons of hay,
for a series of years, have been cut from this meadow of four
acres.

Charles Burton.

RECLAIMED M E A D O AY S .

ESSEX.

From the Report of the Committee.

Leverett Bradley, of Methuen, having entered the only claim
for premium, three of your committee — Messrs. Stevens, Swan
and Keely — viewed his meadow on the 11th of July. We found
it to be a continuation of the same tract of meadow for the
reclaiming of which Mr. Bradley received the first premium of
this society in 1848. That part was on the river side of the
highway ; this is on the opposite side, and lies quite near to the
now venerable mansion in which he resides.

By about one hundred and fifty rods of ditching, done in the
spring of 1858, the water was brought down from the meadow
to the main ditch of the lower meadow, and passed off" to the
river. It was in this lower ditch that Mr. Bradley, by the work
of a few minutes only, dammed the water so elfectually as to
irrigate the whole meadow, during the drought of last spring,
to the manifest benefit of the cro}).

102 :irASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Mr, Bradley's mode of operating, was to cut with axes the
surface of the meadow into strips about a foot wide, and then to
follow with heavy picks, rolling up the strip with all it contained ;
thus peeling the whole meadow of its surface, not excepting
even the stumps. When the fire had reduced all this amount
of rubbish to ashes, there was left for cultivation a new surface
of the richest material, free from all obstructions.

It will be seen by the statement, that while the shallow part
was ploughed with oxen, (at the close of last November,) the
deep part was ploughed with a horse. In answer to our inquiries
on this point, Mr. Bradley showed us some fixtures answering
somewhat the same purpose as snow-shoes, which were securely
strapped on to each foot of the horse, enabling him to draw
heavily, where oxen, at that time, would have sunk into the soft
soil.

As we walked over the dry soil, covered with a most luxuri-
ant crop, it really seemed almost fabulous, that so recently it
could have been the tliick, tangled, wooded morass — ten cords
per acre — that it was described to be, and just such as we saw
on the other side of the fence.

It will be seen that the whole was accomplished by manual
lal)or. Ordinarily this mode of operating might have proved
too expensive. But Mr. Bradley showed his tact by striking at
the right time ; thus benefiting the laborers, by giving them
employment when they were suffering for want of it, and accom-
plishing a difiicult undertaking when the low price of labor
actually left a large margin for profit. Mr. Bradley estimates
the whole expense at seventy-five dollars per acre.

If we may be excused for stepping aside from our specific
duty, we would state, that as we passed through Mr. Bradley's
premises, we were much pleased with his singularly judicious
arrangements for making manure. The rich muck from his
meadow in a dry state, is carted less than one-eighth of a mile
up an ascent so easy, that a pair of oxen could draw a cart full.
It is thrown into his slaughter yard, and mixed with the offal of
a large butchering establishment, absorbing the eflluvia so
entirely as to prevent all unpleasant smell. It is then removed
to form a bank, protected from the wind and sun by a high close
board fence on one side, and a row of shade trees overhanging.
His men were tlien shovellin": over more than two hundred

RECLAIMED MEADOWS. 103

cords of such manure as a poor farmer might ahuost be forgiven
for coveting. In passing, we would commend Mr. Bradley's
manure-making establishment to the attention of your committee
on manures.

We recommend that Mr. Bradley receive your first prcimum
of fifteen dollars.

John Keely.

Statement of heverett Bradley.

The meadow that I offer for premium contains about eight
acres. In the winter of 1857-8, I cut the wood and bushes,
paying one dollar per cord, including the cutting of the bushes.
It averaged ten cords to the acre. Early in the spring of 1858,
before the frost was out of the meadow, the wood was drawn off
and the bushes burnt. The deep part of the meadow averages
eight feet ; but in some places we have thrust a pole eighteen
feet into the muck. This part was thoroughly drained by open
ditches six feet deep, five and a half feet wide at the surface,
sloping to the bottom. The other part, averaging about two
and a half feet deep, was also drained by similar ditches, but
smaller. I paid for the ditching from twenty-five to thirty
cents per rod. The muck taken out was mostly carted to the
yards.

I had no intention of reclaiming this meadow until the 15th
of May. At that time the manufacturing business was nearly
suspended in the neighboringcity of Lawrence. At the corners
of the streets stood anxious groups of laborers wishing for work.
I put up a notice that twenty-five able-bodied men were wanted
to work on the Bradley farm. The next morning came scores.
I picked out fifty stout, hardy men, and marched them to the
field of action, where we won one of the hardest fought battles
of a similar nature in Essex County. The contest ended Satur-
day night, July 3d.

The deep part of the meadow, containing four acres, was
completely peeled. The rind, consisting of stumps, roots, moss,
vegetable matter, &c., was piled up and burnt. The other part
also, containing four acres, together with four acres of upland
adjoining, was grubbed, making in all twelve acres — all of
which was peeled and grubbed or ploughed, entirely by manual
labor.

104 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

The deep part of the meadow was planted with potatoes,
putting the ashes into the hills. The other part with the upland
was {)lantod with squashes, putting tiie ashes into the hills —
planting done the last week in June. Probably there was never
seen a more luxuriant growth of vines in Essex County. But the
early frost in August nearly destroyed both potatoes and squash
vines. The warm weather following immediately after, so far
revived them as that they averaged half a crop.

In 1859, the deep part of the meadow was planted with pota-
toes, with no manure, yielding about two hundred bushels per
acre. The other part of the meadow with the upland was
planted with corn, also without manure. Both parts were
planted the last of May. The crop of corn was good for the
season.

In the latter part of November the whole was ploughed ; the
deep part with a horse, the other with oxen, and all sown with
winter rye and grass seed, except about three-fourths of an acre
of deep part of meadow.

The present year, 18G0, the three-fourths acre, and also a
small piece adjoining, where the muck had all been carted off,
were planted with potatoes. The latter piece was slightly ma-
nured. Judging from what have been dug, there will be two
hundred bushels on the three-fourths acre, and about two-thirds
of that yield on the other piece.

The winter rye sown in November, peeped out with the young
blades of grass. In the spring the plants looked well un^il the
heaving frost threw them out. I immediately passed a stone
roller over the whole, and filled the ditches with water by
damming below. Whether or not this was of service, you can
judge by your own observation.

The rye was gathered in good order. Judging from wliat
I have threshed, the average yield would be twenty-two or
twenty-three bushels per acre. Some acres yield thirty bushels
or more.

My men are now cutting half a ton per acre where the rye
grew.

Methuen, September 2G, 1860.

RECLAIMED MEADOWS. 105

PLYMOUTH.

Statement of Josiah L. Bassett.

The land I have entered for the society's premium, before
operating upon it, was lowish, moist land. The lowest, be-
fore being drained, was so cold and wet as to be almost
worthless. The mud was from one foot to three feet deep.
Portions of it were covered with bushes, — the high part with
laurel and alder, and the lowest with alder and whortleberry,
some maple and birch trees, and some pine stumps of an
old growth. The bushes and trees were cut in the fall of
1857, and burned on the ground. One acre and two rods
were worked and sowed to grass in the fall of 1858, and
all the pine stumps that were in sight were taken out of the
whole lot that has since been clca^red. In 1859 I worked
and sowed one acre and forty-eight rods, and the present sea-
son have worked and sowed to grass three acres and one
hundred and twenty»rods — making in all six acres and ten
rods of land.

Tliis piece of land is what I should call broken, some of
it high enough to plough, and some with a deep surface of
mud. The part that was high enough to plough cost, by esti-
mate, ready to receive the manure, twenty dollars per acre ;
and that part covered with roots and mud, I estimate at fifty
dollars per acre. There has been a large amount of roots
and turf burned, the ashes spread upon the same ; about
thirty loads of good compost manure to the acre, and on&
bag of Peruvian guano. The compost manure, with the-
guano, I call worth twenty-five dollars per acre. The ashes
made of the burned stuff is a first rate manure for grass,
which is reckoned with the expense of clearing. The cost
of ditching is well paid by the mud taken from the ditches.
The time of working this land has been mostly in the months
of June and August. I have estimated that I cut from two
to two and a half tons to the acre on what has been mown.

Statement of C. G. Davis, of Plymouth.
During the last four years I have been making the best
part of my farm, from land which was dead swamp in 1856.
I commenced with the slope extending from the northerly:
u

106 MASSACHUSETTS ACxRICULTURE.

bank fronting Eel Creek, and extending across the railroad,
then turning and running southerly on a line with the harbor.
This land contains about two and a half acres which was
swamp, and about two acres more which I have under-
drained, and which was always wet until June, giving no signs
of a grass crop until late in that month. It is all upon a
declivity, out of which above, and down the descent, springs
burst out. It was covered with dock, skunks cabbage, alder,
and swamp bushes, and was unsafe for cattle. In August,
185G, I cut drains through the black mud at intervals not
more than thirty to forty feet apart down the descent, occa-
sionally making a short branch to lead in a spring. In a few
weeks the mud was sufficiently dried to allow me to dig deeper
into a soil which varied from clay to gravel and fine quick-
sand. I dug another -drain the whole length under the
bank, "affording sufficient slope to carry off the water both
ways. I laid the bottom with strips of old boards, and placed
broken rails parallel with each other itpon the boards — upon
these I laid the larger stones, filled in with small stones to
within eight inches of the surface — covered with sea-weed from
the shore, and finished with sand and gravel. This land was
BO soft that I did not venture, wnth the knowledge I tlien had,
to use tiles, and I still doubt, whether they will serve upon
land so soft as this then was. I covered the whole land during
the winter from a sand bank close by, from four to eight
inches in depth. In one place, however, I was obliged to
" drown out" the spring by the use of sand. I could not open
the mud long enough to make a drain. It would be impos-
sible for me to state with accuracy the cost of this improve-
ment. Done at odd hours, mostly in the fall and winter, no
account could be kept of it. The time lost in gathering stones,
and placing them in the drain, far exceeds the cost of tiles
laid, and was no small item. Some of these stones, however,
were raked from stubble land, or lay in heaps where they were
a nuisance and must be removed. This, however, I can say ;
the land is clear gain, as it was worthless before, and the labor
was performed wlicn, with hired men, little else could be
done on cleared land. I find I can do a great deal of drain-
ing in the winter, much more than one would at first suppose.
Such land is generally open, and free from frost, except upon

RECLAIMED MEADOWS. 107

the surface. And the covering and filling in can be best
done when the weak places are frozen over, provided your
land is free from rose bushes, or such other plants as are
likely to push through your covering. In the spring a portion
of this land was covered by scraping down the brow of the
bank above, which was formerly too steep for a hay cart, thus
filling in over the drain under the bank some two or three
feet more.

And now for the result. This land was laid down to clover,
herds-grass and Timothy, in the spring of 1857, and a portion
in the spring of 1858 with barn compost harrowed in, and has
been in English grass ever since. The crop has been very
heavy, and in 1859 had the finest show of Timothy which I
have ever seen. It came up and overtopped the herds-grass
after it had flowered, changing the whole appearance of the
field. I have mowed it twice every season, and the first crop is
more than can be made upon the ground.

But how about the stone drains ? From my own experience
I should advise no man to make covered small stone drains
under any circumstances. My greatest trouble is with the
moles or field mice, who bore holes innumerable down into the
drains, which work the speedy destruction of the drains after a
few surface washings. No drain should admit a particle of water
from the surface. By great care and attention two only of my
drains have as yet become obstructed and overflowed, and in
these, or rather near these and in their stead, I shall now use
tiles. On a portion of the drained land where there was no
swamp, and the drain was cut through clay pan, I have seen no
mole holes, either in the grass or the cultivated land ; and on
this portion I raised fodder-corn the year after draining, where
a cow would formerly mire at every step. The corn was planted
in June, and was tasseled when the frost took it.

During the last two years I have subdued another piece of
clean swamp. The whole lot consists of about four acres.
This was covered in August, 1858, with swamp whortleberry,
briers, rose bushes, high bush blackberry, and " black pepper,'*
upon a peat running from two to twelve feet deep, and over-
flowed by springs, from which, through its centre, flowed a
sluggish brook. In August, 1859, I cut off all the brush with
the axe and stub-scythe, and cleared off all of what was before

108 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

impenetrable except by an occasional cow patli. I deepened
the outlet two feet through a bank of gravel and pan, about
two hundred feet in length — dug a new ditch parallel with or
straightening the old brook, and leaving its former bed on dry-
land. This ditch is almost three hundred feet long, and after
digging two central ditches about one hundred and ninety feet
each, the land was left for another year. In August, 1859)
dug ditches around the whole of three sides and commenced on
the southerly end of the swamp by paring the whole surface
with bog-hoes. The roots, though the stumps are from one to
three inches in diameter, seldom sink more tlian three inches ;
and the bog-hoc, with a narrow axe on one side and the adze at
the other, takes up sods two to three feet square. These were
carted to a knoll of about one-quarter of an acre until it was
covered, and the balance was disposed of during the winter, as
follows : We dug pits occasionally, the whole depth of the peat,
from nine to twelve feet, and into these the roots and sods are
dumped — as the cart goes to the swamp in the morning and at
noon, it carries a load of manure, returning with a load of peat
at noon and night. The manure is composted with the heaps of
peat, and when the whole meadow has been covered with gravel,
the compost heaps are all ready in the spring to spread upon
the meadow. In this manner I made an acre and a half of
meadow last winter. On about six rods square of the meadow,
the sods which were free from roots were turned, and tlie sur-
face shingled with them, and the root-sods removed. All the
ditches being made in solid peat, were flared some eight feet
from the upper edge of each bank, by removing the peat eight
feet in width and almost three feet deep, and dumping gravel
into the angles on either side, mixed with a surface of soil or
peat, thus making a natural slope with no perpendicular sides
for sun and frost to act upon. The north or cast side of all
open ditches should be well flared, for in our climate the sun
thaws almost every day the side of tlic ditch which is exposed
to its rays.

In April all the manure being upon the ground, I laid down
an acre with herds-grass, Timothy, clover, orchard grass and
oats, two bushels and a half of the latter, and in July mowed
the oats. They were drawn to a field near the barn, and
stacked. Here they remained until the first week in October,

RECLAIMED MEADOWS. 109

■when they were threshed witli a machine. They threshed
sixty-four bushels of thirty-four pounds per bushel, making
sixty-eight busliols of thirty-two pounds. In addition to this,
I liave no doubt I lost four bushels by the hens, not counting
what I lost l)y mowing, raking and carting. In September I
mowed the grass crop, principally clover, and got 2,200, weighed
as it went into the barn.

Upon a quarter of an acre I sowed Hungarian grass June
10, cropped it August 20, and laid it down immediately to
grass. Tlie Hungarian grass was not weighed, but was esti-
mated at half a ton. Another quarter of an acre was drained
by running three hundred feet of tile drain under the bank at
the edge of the peat, cutting through it about a foot into the
solid clay pan two feet more. Upon this portion I cut out the
bushes and meadow roots, and have left it to grass. The cost
of this work, also, it is impossible for me to estimate accurately.
Besides the peat which was carried to the barn, I covered
during the winter an acre of flat old pasture land adjoining,
with one hundred and twenty-eight horse-cart loads, and filled
tlie holes with sods and gravel. The roots upon the sandy
knoll werQ burned in March, and the ashes ploughed in upon
the knoll, and the pasture land around it. This I laid down
on the 10th of June with lucerne and barley, and mowed both
for hay, August 20. The lucerne was fifteen to twenty inches
high, and as the land is cleaned, I expect to mow it for fodder
four times a year for the next dozen years. I think wdiat I
have done has cost me one hundred and fifty days' work, but
at that price, it being well done, I consider this land, which
was before entirely worthless, the best land I have got, probably
as good for grass, our great staple, as any land in the county.

Upon peat meadows like this, permit me to say that I deem
open drains, well made, far better than any system of under-
draining. No close drains, it seems to me, could last two
years — not only the muddy deposit of the peat, but the settling,
and unequal texture of the peat would destroy them. Nor do
open drains upon such swamps furnish the objection that the
meadow is cut up into small lands, which is well taken in cases
where there are frequent springs, and the drains must be
frequent also, as is the case with the land I first drained.
Much of our flat peat meadows are furnished by springs above

110 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

tlicm, oil another's land, or b}^ the springs and surface water
from the adjoining highlands ; and if the drains are deep
enough, and judiciously located, there are few places where
the lands may not comprise more than a third of an acre. A
land so small is no great hinderance to a man wlio meaiis to cut
three or four tons to an acre, upon which the hoof of his neat
stock should never travel.

Statement of Austin J. Roberts.

In the year 1856, 1 made an entry with Mr. Howland, the
supervisor for our society, for an improvement contemplated
on swamp lands ; the award of the premium to be made in
1860. Tlie meadows in question proposed for improvement, of
which there were several distinct pieces, consisted of extremely
low, wet bogs overflown by adjacent ponds in the winter, and at
all other times and seasons impassable to cattle.

One swamp was covered densely over with bushes ; the other
two meadows were clear, yielding rushes and other coarse bed-
ding material.

Believing it "would pay," not only in genuine satisfaction,
but lucratively — dollars and cents considered — to reclaim these
waste places, more especially as two of the swamps adjoined
my garden and ornamental grounds, I commenced with Portu-
guese laborers, hired at from four dollars to six dollars per
month, in the autumn of 1856, and have continued at intervals
the work of redemption up to the present time. The labor has
consisted simply in forming " terra firma" where before there
was none ; or, in other words, making land where tliere was
only soft mud. This was accomplished by carting adjacent
hills of gravel upon the swamps, and gradually raising the
surface of the low lands above high water, much in the same
way as wharves are built in cities. The amount of gravel
carried upon an acre has been about one thousand loads, after
which a thorough top covering (not dressing) of rich loam
from the forest and meadows, composted with horse manure,
was applied. The result is " big returns " in tiie shape of
heavy semi-annual dividends of grass. The whole expense of
the improvement is slightly under one hundred dollars per
acre ; still, it j)ays well ; tlie average value of hay cut being
forty dollars to the acre, or three tons, at about tliirteen dollars
per ton.

PASTURE AND WASTE LANDS. Ill

• IMPROVING PASTURE AND AVASTE LANDS.

ESSEX.

Statement of Jonas Holt.

The piece of land which I present for premium contains
about three acres within its walls ; about one acre and three-
fourths was ploughed in 1813, not having had much done to it
since, it was almost covered with brakes and bushes.

The other acre and one-fourth was partly run and partly
swale land, the run and swale were both very wet, the part that
had been ploughed was partly a gravelly soil and partly a stiff
loam resting upon a hard pan. My first object was to get rid of
the water ; for this purpose I cut a ditch through the centre of
the run twenty-one rods, three feet wide, and two feet six inches
deep ; there was so much water at the time that it was very
slow digging. This ditch cost me forty cents per rod. In the
bottom of this ditch I laid a good stone drain, and then filled
the ditch with small stones. I then dug five short ditches on
the sides of this main ditch to drain the land on the east and
west sides, running nearly at right angles with and emptying into
the main ditch. In these short ditches I laid stone drains and
covered them deep enough to plough over ; the result was, the
land is all dry enough to plough ; the short drains however were
not dug until after the land was ploughed. As this piece of
land was considered of little value, I determined to try what
deep ploughing and thorough cultivation would do ; the land
was not considered worth more than twenty dollars per acre
when I commenced on it, and now I think it is worth sixty or
seventy dollars per acre, and will pay the interest on it, and
more too.

A statement of the cost and the amount of crop, with its
value, is herewith annexed.

1858.

Nov. Twenty-one rods of ditch at forty cents per rod, 88 40

To laying drain and filling the same, . . 5 00
To ploughing, one day, with eight oxen and

four hands, 12 00

Use of plough, ...... To

$26 15

112

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

1859.
May.

Sept.

2 days' ploughing with six oxen and three hands,

Use of plough, .....

Harrowing, .....

Thirty loads of manure,

Planting and seed, ....

Hoeing once, .....

Harvesting, .....

£0 rods of underdrain, at forty cents per rod

Credit by 80 bushels of potatoes at fifty cents,
20 bushels corn, at one dollar,
GO bushels turnips, at twenty cents,
4 bushels tomatoes, at forty cents,

Expense, .....

Value of crop, ....

1859.

Oct. To digging and filling sixteen rods of ditch, .

Ploughing, 3 days, with 1 pair oxen and 1 hand.
Use of plough,

Total expense up to December 1, 1859, .

Income to the same date, .....

Leaving the land in debt to me, ....

To this add tlic interest on the land at -f 20 per

acre, $-3.00, will leave the balance against the land,

1860.

May. To 12 rods of ditch djjg and filled,

ploughing and harrowing,

})lanting and seed, .....

hoeing, three times, ....

cutting, binding and carrying stalks,

70 loads of manure, half its value, .

18 00

1 00

2 00
15 00
12 00

00
00
00

$56

00

$iO 00

20

00

12

00

1

60

$73 60

$82

15

73

60

$S 55

$8 00

7

00

1

20

$16

20

$98 35

73

60

$24

75

$25

35

$6 00

8

00

12

00

15

00

2

50

35

00

$103 85

PASTURE AND WASTE LANDS. 113

Credit for the present year, 4 bushels of pease, . |4 00

43 bushels Chenango potatoes, at 50 cts., 21 50

30 " St. Helena potatoes, at 45 cts., 13 50

20 " Davis seedlmg potatoes, 45 cts., 9 00

28 " Bradstrect potatoes, at 45 cts., 12 60

8 " Tomatoes, at 50 cts., . . 4 00

1 " Beans, at $1, . . . . 1 00

300 " bundles of stalks, ... 600

120 baskets of corn, 60 00

6 " soft corn; .... 1 00

1,000 Cabbages, at 4 cts., . . . . 40 00

Deduct expenses,

Deduct one day's work ploughing in May, .

$172 60
103 85

168 75
8 00

75

I then have a clear gain of $60.75, besides the extra value of
the land. You will see that I have charged nothing for har-
vesting the corn ; I thought the butts worth enough to pay for
harvesting, so I gave no credit for the corn fodder and charged
nothing for the harvesting. I ploughed this piece of ground
ten inches deep, and turned up so much of the cold subsoil
that I think my first crop was not as good as it would have been
had I ploughed shallower, but I am satisfied the land for after
crops, will amply pay for the meagre crop I got at first.

You will see that I have charged but half the worth of the
manure, as I calculate one-half of the value of the manure
should be charged to the land and one-half to the crop.

And OVER, November 8, 1860.

Statement of Paul T. Winkley.
The piece of waste land which I offer for the inspection and
consideration of the committee, contains about fifteen acres.
It was worthless before I commenced improving it, because it
did not produce any thing of any value. It was covered with
bushes and moss, such as wild rose bushes, iron bushes, bay-

15

114 :\[ASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

berry bushes, tfcc. Some of the bushes we cut and burned on
the ground and some we ploughed in. The soil is a clay loam.
"We ploughed about eight acres of it in the summer of 1857,
in Avet weather when we could not do any thing else to advan-
tage. Thus ploughing in all that was green to decompose pre-
vious to ploughing in the following spring when it was cross-
ploughed, and about six acres of it manured with as much
manure as could be ploughed in. Tfe remainder was ploughed
and harrowed, and not planted, as I do not think that it pays
to plant and hoe without manure. All that was manured was
planted to corn, but on account of the wet and cold weather it
was not planted until the 5th and 6th of June, hence it was
not very sound corn. In 1859 that which had been planted to
corn was sowed to barley and grass seed, and it was a good
crop. This year we have cut two large crops of clover and
Timothy.

In the summer of 1858 the remainder was ploughed, and
last year (1859) it was manured, ploughed, and planted to
corn and ruta-baga. The corn did not get ripe and not a very
good crop. The ruta-bagas were a fair crop. This year five
acres of it were sown with six bushels of wheat and grass seed,
and four acres to barley and grass seed. The wheat produced
ninety bushels, the barley one hundred bushels.

I have put on the whole piece one thousand loads of stable
and barnyard manure, half a cord to the load which I charge
to the land, ^2,000. The crops which I have received I calcu-
late will pay the expense of cultivating and applying the
manure, so that the land is now indebted to me $2,000.

This I expect to receive back again principal and interest in
five years in hay and fall feed, so that I shall gain by the opera-
tion at tlie end of eight years the value of the land, Avhich will
be at least one hundred dollars per acre.

NKWiiURYPORT, November 1, 18G0.

NORFOLK.

• Statement of A. L. Smith.

The piece of pasture land which I offer for premium, contains
four acres ; the soil is a gravelly loam. It had been used for a

PASTURE AND WASTE LANDS. 115

pasture for nearly a hundred years, and a great part of it was
covered with whortle and blueberry bushes, ground savin, and a
small piece with alders. In August, 1858, I mowed the bushes
and burned them upon the ground. The following month I
ploughed two acres of the piece with four oxen, then harrowed
thoroughly and sowed with rye. In April, 1859, I ploughed
the remaining two acres, one and three-quarters of it with four
oxen, the other quarter, where the alders grew, with six oxen.
Then harrowed, furrowed, and applied three cords per acre of
coarse, strawy manure in the hill, and planted the piece with
potatoes, hoed them once, and produced a fair crop of good,
sound potatoes. The rye on a part of the field was quite good,
and the remainder very slim. In April, 1860, I ploughed the
part on which the rye grew last season, across the old furrows,
then harrowed it well. In May I ploughed the other two acres,
and harrowed the parts on which bushes had grown ; then raked
up several loads of roots, burned them, and spread the ashes
upon the ground. The last part of the month I planted three
acres of the piece with corn, applying three cords of good com-
post manure per acre in the hill. The remaining acre was
planted with potatoes, manured with about three cords of strawy
manure in the hill. As there were but few weeds to contend
with, I hoed the corn and potatoes but once. In each alternate
row I planted pumpkin seeds, and where the crows pulled up
some liills of corn at one corner of the field, planted pickle
seeds. The corn was very good, with but little soft corn. To
ascertain the amount of fodder upon the piece, I weighed an
average rod of the husks and stalks, after they were well dried.
The cost of husking the corn was of small amount, as I had a
husking bee to husk part of it, and the remainder was all husked
evenings, except one stormy day.
The expenses were as follows : —

1858.

To mowing bushes, . . . . . . . $5 00

ploughing, 3 days, 11 25

harrowing, 2 days, ...... 4 00

4 bushels rye, and sowing, 4 50

116

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

1859.
To ploughing If acres with 4 oxen, ....
ploughing ^ acre with 6 oxen, } day, .
boy and oxen 1^ days, harrowing,
furrowing, $1 ; 20 bushels seed potatoes, $10,
6 cords manure, applying manure and planting, .
ploughing and hoeing, -$7 ; harvesting potatoes, 86,
cradling rye and binding, $3 ; threshing, $2,
carting straw, .......

1860.

To ploughing 4 acres, $9 ; harrowing 3 acres, $4,
raking and burning roots, 'f 1 ; furrowing, -f 2,
nine cords compost manure, $45 ; 3 cords strawy

manure, $10.50,

applying manure and planting, $20.25 ; seed corn,

$1.08,

10 bushels potatoes, $5 ; pumpkin and pickle seeds,

25 cts.,

cultivating and hoeing, .....

cutting stalks and harvesting corn,

harvesting potatoes,

Total amount of expense,

$6 56

2

87

2

18

11

00

32

00

13

00

5

00

2

50

$13 00

3

00

55 50

21 33

5

25

11

37

10

95

4

25

$224 31

The value of the crops is as follows : —

1859.
By 19 bushels rye, ......

1,550 pounds straw, sold at 80 cts. per hundred,
144 bushels large potatoes, at 50 cts., .
18 bushels small potatoes, at 25 cts., .

1860.
By 120 bushels corn,
12 bushels pig corn,
4 tons husks and butts,
4,800 pounds stalks, .
83 bushels large potatoes, at 40 cts.,
10 bushels small potatoes, at 20 cts..

$19 00

12

40

72

00

4

50

$120 00

2

40

28

00

24

00

33

20

2

00

PASTURE AND WASTE LANDS. 117

Bj 2 loads pumpkins, $3 00

pickles, 1 25

Total, $321 75

Deduct expenses, .... 224 31

Leaves a profit of .... $97 44
Dover, November 14, 18 GO.

From the Report of the Committee on Clearing Unimproved

Land.

The committee report that only one claim was made upon
them this year. They regret this fact, for they know that more
or less land is cleared and subdued every year in this county,
and the owners are entitled to recognition and reward at the
hands of the society. The object of the Society in rewarding
the efforts of the farmer is partially defeated if there be but one
applicant for each premium. The object is not to induce the
one farmer to come forward and receive his premium for one
piece of work done, perhaps without regard to cost, but to cause
all who have done the same work to invite the committee to
examine the case and award a premium to him who has done
the best work in the most economical and. profitable manner.
In the one case the society encourages a wasteful application
of money and labor to rough lands, in the other it encourages
a display of sound judgment and good management. It is to
be hoped that another year may find this fact more fully
impressed upon the farmers of our county, and that the com-
mittee of next year may find enough to do. The importance
of these visits is acknowledged quite universally, but still not
with that depth of conviction which the committee^ think it
deserves. The views of members from various parts of the
county, and their different systems of management, and their
differing opinions as to the system adopted by the farmer on
whose ground they are, are all discussed earnestly, and every
one present is satisfied that he has learned something, and made
a stride in the march of improvement. This was the case in
our recent meeting on the farm of Mr. John Sias, in ]\rilton ;
we all came away with the determination to do some things

118 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

which Mr. Sias does, and whicli we have not done heretofore.
Any one visiting this farm will be struck with the judgment
displayed throughout the whole management, and here will be
found an exception to the general rule stated above, that when
but one application was made for a premium the advantage of
competition was lost. Mr. Sias is not disposed to sul)due a
piece of pasture for the fun of it — as may be easily supposed,
when we are told that two men and two yoke of oxen were
three days in ploughing one acre after it had been cleared and
burnt over, and a great many stones removed, Mr. Sias j>utting
" his own shoulder to the wheel." His object was profit. His
farm is less than twenty acres, and needing pasture for only one
cow, he concluded to improve about one-half of his pasture, and
then he would have no waste land, and every acre would do its
duty towards earning subsistence for the family. The improved
lot contains about three acres ; it has a depression across the
middle of it, consequently one-half of it slopes to the north,
and the other half more gradually slopes to the south. A covered
ditch is to be made through the hollow to drain one corner, which
is very springy. The one acre, so hard to plough, produced eighty-
three bushels of corn for its first crop. The land is naturally
good, and, under Mr. Sias' management, will not produce less
and less each year, as is too commonly the case with improved
lands. His system is to make his land better each year, and
we wish all who have any doubts as to the profits of that plan,
and all who think their farms cannot be so managed, would go
and see Mr. Sias, and their eyes will bo opened.

Below will be found the statement of John Sias, and we
cheerfully award him the first premium of eight dollars.

M. B. Inches, Chairman.
Dedham, December 1, 18G0.

Statement of John Sias.
Gentlemen, — The lot of land which I offer for a premium
contains about three acres, covered partly with red cedars and
small bushes, and was very rocky and stony. One great object
in attempting to reclaim it was to obtain the small stones to bed
a road which I contemplated making, and which I could not

PASTURE AND WASTE LANDS. 119

obtain so easily from any other place ; it had never been used
except as a pasture, and had never been ploughed.

In the spring of 1859 I cut the w^ood and bushes from two
acres, ploughed it, dug and carted off a part of the rocks and
stones, burnt the bushes, carted on about six cords of manure,
and planted with corn, potatoes and cabbage ; the ground was
rough, and it was rather a poor crop.

In the fall of 1859 the other acre was cleared, the bushes
were burnt, and the ashes spread over the ground and ploughed
in, the stones were carted off, in part, and in the spring of 1860
it was cross-ploughed, the roots dug up and burnt, and the
ashes spread over the lot, then manured with five cords of
manure, and planted with corn.

The two acre lot was planted the present year, after spread-
ing about eight and a half cords of manure, with pease, pickles,
sweet corn and cabbage, with ruta-baga as a second crop after
the pease. We have kept no particular account of the work
done upon the piece in carting off the small stones, but some
idea of the quantity may be formed when I state that a road
has been bedded with them nearly forty rods long, twelve feet
wide, and one and a half feet deep. A well twenty-five feet
deep was stoned with them, and the backing for a cellar wall one
hundred and thirty feet long, and equal to one foot by one and
a half deep and wide. Also a trench for a wall across the lot
and for underdraining, about twenty-two rods long and two
ahd a half feet deep and wide ; and in addition to the above,
a man, with a yoke of oxen, carted three days, and a con-
siderable quantity are yet left upon the ground. No charge
has been made for any of the above work, as the stones were
wanted, and were worth the cost of picking and carting.

The digging of part of the above, and also the digging and
hauling of large ones sufficient to build a heavy wall of about
twenty-two rods across the lot, twelve of which have already
been laid up, have been charged to the lot, and there arc now
on the ground enough large ones to build from twelve to fifteen
rods more.

The expense of clearing, cultivating, and inclosing the lot,
has been as follows : —

120 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

The work upon the two acre lot in the spring

and summer of 1859, was
Six cords of manure, .....
1860, labor through the season, .

8-^ cords of manure, ....

Expense of the one acre lot : —

1859, work, ploughing and digging rocks, .

1860, five cords of manure,
labor through the season, .

Ashes from burnt roots and brush,

The produce has been as follows, from the two acre
lot, in 1859:—
Corn and corn-fodder, .... $64 00

Potatoes, 8 40

Cabbage, 30 00

870 00

36 00

82 00

51 00

8239

00

830 00

30 00

38 50

98

50

8337

50

10

00

8347 50

1860, pease, 832.25 ; early cabbage, 840, . 872 25
pickles, 848.11 ; sweet corn, 86, . 54 11

late cabbage, 848; Savoy and red do., 812, 60 00
ruta-baga, . . . . . . 33 75

8102 40

220 11

From the one acre lot, as follows : —

1860, corn, 83 bushels and 37 pounds, . 883 65

4,900 pounds top stalks, at 815 per ton, 36 75

6,000 pounds butts and husks, . . 22 60

^^

Cost of clearing and cultivating.

8465 41
347 50

Clear profit,

8117 91

Besides having a good handsome field for cultivation, instead of
an almost worthless, rocky, and bushy pasture. Perhaps I
should have mentioned that tliere are a few rods at one corner
of the acre lot which are now in their natural state.

jMiltox, ^November 12, 1860.

ORCHARDS. 121

ORCHARDS.

WORCESTER NORTH.

From the Report of the Committee.

A poor tree is not worth transi)laiiting even if ol)taincd as a
gift, wliilo a good tree is cheap at double the price usually
paid. In purchasing trees for an orchard, regard should also
be had to the distance from the ground at which the lower
litnbs start out from the trunks. As there is no doubt that
the whole ground of an orchard for some years at least after
planting, if not for its whole existence, should be kept under cul-
tivation, and as this can be done easier with the plough than the
spade, it becomes necessary that the lowest branches should be
out of the way of the yoke and horns of oxen, or the harness
and back of the horse. For this purpose it has been found by
experience that five feet from the surface of the ground is the
least distance at which the limbs should be allowed to remain.

So too in orchard culture. Apple trees should be set out at
least two rods apart ; otherwise, when mature growth is
attained, the branches of adjoining trees will interfere with
each other, compelling them to tend upward for light and air,
and thus subjecting the owner to the trouble and hazard of
ascending lofty trees to gather his fruit.

In regard to the danger of making the apple tree grow too
rapidly, particularly those varieties which are adapted to our
climate, we apprehend that all fear in that respect is well-nigh
groundless. The object of the orchardist should be to obtain
trees large enough to produce something worth harvesting
before they begin to bear fruit. Wiiat he wants in the first
place is ^good-sized tree; and there need be no fear that the
Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Roxbury Russet, Hubbards-
ton. Peck's Pleasant, Gravenstein, Porter, William's and such
like kinds will grow too fast. The subscriber has an orchard,
and there are others in this vicinity similar, the trees of which
were set out only ten, eleven, or twelve years ago, and this
season many of them have borne four or five barrels of large,
fair fruit, and at the same time have made a growth at the
end of the limbs of from one to two feet. The trunks of some
16

1-22 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

of tliem are more than two feet in circumference, and the
extremity of the branches of the few that were planted only
twenty-one feet apart, already touch each other, and to the eye
of the pomologist they present an appearance of healthfulness
and vigor delightful to behold. The trees in this orchard were
not allowed to bear fruit for the first seven or eight years after
being set in the ground ; the soil has been in constant cultiva-
tion with some hoed crop, receiving only a very moderate appli-
cation of stal)le manure spread upon the surface before plough-
ing, together with such a quantity of muck, ashes, old plaster,
bones, A'C, as could be obtained without too m.uch expense,
the amount of the whole being quite small. The crops of fruit
that these trees are sure to bear every year, or alternate year,
will in the future retard their growth sufficiently to satisfy the
most timid. Just compare such vigorous, healthy, fruit-bearing
trees with thousands that may be seen any where, planted
in grass ground, or checked in their growth by the borer, main-
taining a feeble, sickly existence, and producing a bushel or
two, perhaps, of wormy and knotted fruit, and that too quite
as early as the most impatient and short-siglited might desire,
and all apprehension of too rapid growth will vanish as dew
before the morning sun.

C. C. Field, Chairman.

Statement of J. M. Saictcll.

The orchard which I offer for the society's premium, consists
of fifty-six trees, of the following varieties, viz. : Minister,
Foundling, Gravenstein, Porter, Sops-of-wine, Rhode Island
Greening, Ladies' Sweet, Liscomb, Baldwin, Northern Spy,
Mother Apple, Hubbardston Nonesuch, and some that I do not
know the names of. Forty of them were set out in May, 1856,
and the rest in May, 1857. I obtained them of the Shakers at
Groton, at twenty-five cents each. They were two and tliree
years Ironi the bud. The holes in which they were set, were
dug from four to five feet in diameter, and from fifteen to
twenty inches deep, and thirty feet apart. The land was in
sward, bearing a light croj) of grass. Many places the ledge
was laid bare in digging the holes. The sods were cut in
pieces and returned to the holes and put about the roots with

ORCHARDS. 123

the best of tlio loam, the sods serving to keep the soil loose
and moist about the roots. The trees made some growth tlie
first year, and I have not lost a tree, although inexperienced in
the business of setting out trees ; I felt that my first attempt
was quite successful, that by improving the spare moments, (as
I have,) I might raise (vvitii the blessings of God to aid me,) a
nice little orchard. The first year I put about them a compost
of chip-dirt, leached ashes, and some stable manure, about one-
half of a wheelbarrow load to each, and stirred the soil two or
three times during the season. The next year I set out the
remainder and ploughed the ground, spreading a fair coat
of stable manure upon the furrows, and planted it with potatoes
and corn, principally potatoes. I have used leaves and leaf
mould from the woods two or three times, and think it good,
as it keeps the soil light and in good condition, but I have not
been able to discover any great effect to the trees from its use,
as I have not used it long enough to test it ; but I don't see
why it does not contain the natural elements of the tree, and
may be well adapted to nourish and keep them thriving natu-
rally. The trees have been washed with soft soap and water,
about as thick as cream, or nearly as thick, by mixing them
together, once or twice each year, and I think with good effect.
I tliink the soap-suds that run down about the trunks of the
tree have a tendency to keep away the moth of the apple tree
borer. I have experimented iu cutting off limbs at differ-
ent times of the year, and I like June the best. At other
times when cut, the wound does not heal so readily as
when cut in June, but the bark turns black, and the wound is
a long time healing, and in some cases has not healed yet.
When in June, I have noticed that the bark keeps bright, and
the wound soon heals. The borer has troubled me some, but I
look after him twice each year with knife and wire, and have
thus far been able to keep a little ahead of him, with one or
two exceptions, when he has nearly destroyed two trees, yet
they may recover in time. My aim has not been to make great
growth of wood, but to keep trees in a good thriving condition,
and let the wood harden, that they may withstand the severe
winter weather which this climate is subject to. I have noticed
that uncultivated trees bear the most regularly, but of course
not as good fruit as highly cultivated ones. I have cultivated

124 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

the ground with roots and tomatoes, spreading cow, horse and
hog manure upon the surface. I fork up the soil in the spring
and full about the trees, and hoe about them the same as other
growing crops, and let nature do the rest. I might spend
more time with them, if I had it to spare, but by improving
the little spare moments, I have done as well as I could ; and
here is the result. Almost every young man in the country
may do the same, if lie will but improve his leisure moments,
instead of idling them away as many do. He may raise one,
and as many more as he can, and thus confer great blessings
upon those to come after him. Who can tell the blessings of
even one single apple tree thus raised ? And would it not be
well to encourage every young man to do something of the
kind, and thus save himself from many temptations, and per-
haps m^ich misery ? Let him set out one little tree, and see
what pleasure will be afforded in its cultivation. I, for one,
take much, in tlie cultivation of mine, and wish others may do
the same, and as much better as they can.

HAMPDEN.

Statement of H. M. Sessions.

The apple orchard entered for premium consists of sixty-six
trees set in 1857, on about one and one-half acre of land, with
eastern exposure. The varieties were the Baldwins, Green-
ings, Russets, llurlbert, Danvers' Sweet, Ladies' Sweet, and
Hubbardston Nonesuch. The trees were raised in my own
garden, and about seven feet high when set. The ground was
broken up and cleared of stone the year previous to setting the
trees, it having been in pasture since the forests were cleared
off, nearly fifty years ago. A liberal coating of manure was
applied, and the ground thoroughly ploughed twice with a
side-hill plough, and cropped with turnips. The next spring it
was sowed with oats, and seeded with grass for mowing ; the
trees were set two rods apart each way, in holes two feet deep,
and three feet in diameter. The subsoil was spread over the
ground, and the holes filled with the soil and rich loam, carted
for the purpose. The land has been in grass since the trees
were set, it being liable to be washed by rains if under cultiva-

PLOUGHING. 125

tion ; a few shovelfuls of manure have been put around each
tree in the fall, and spread in the spring. In trimming, care
has been taken to form the head so that the limbs will not
cross nor interfere with each other when loaded with fruit.
The trunk is left about six feet high, so that a team can
pass under without interfering with the horizontal branches ;
these branches at that height will touch the ground when
loaded with fruit.

South Wilukaiiam, October, 18G0.

PLOUGHING.

ESSEX.

From the Report of the Committee.

A well chosen spot was selected for ploughing, it being a
rectangle, the lots well proportioned, about nine i*ods long hj
three wide, making about one-sixth of an acre, rising on either
side, which gave the spectators a good opportunity of overlook-
ing the scene. The ground was rather hard with pebble stones,
which is not undesirable to try the skill of the ploughman.
The premiums were well contested, and the work well done.
There were seven kinds of ploughs used ; but as different indi-
viduals have their preferences, the committee will not give
their opinion as to their comparative value.

The committee were reminded of the importance of heavy
ploughs and strong teams on hard land, as a heavy plough is
much less disturbed by pebble-stones than are lighter ones ;
hence the reason why new ploughs make better work on hard
land than old ones, because ploughs grow lighter by wear, and
a strong team will make better work than a light one, as the
team will pass on more steadily.

The time occupied in ploughing was from thirty-four to fifty
minutes — about the same length of time as has been usually
occupied in ploughing with ox teams. Possibly, however, they
might have ploughed a little quicker, had it not been under-
stood that the committee were not favorable to excessively

126 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

quick ploughing. Horses will usually plough more in a given
time than oxen. Every wise and judicious farmer will study
the principles of economy, and profit in all the departments of
farming. Hence the question often arises, which is tlie most
profitable to perform farm work, oxen or horses ; or if both are
kept, how mariy of each ? This depends upon circumstances.
For ploughing and harrowing on easy land, horses will work to
good advantage. Also for teaming on the road, of which almost
every farmer has more or less to do, horses in most cases are
preferable to oxen, as they will travel quicker, and are better
able to bear the heat in warm weather. They are also better
for soiling; and as most of our pastures are poor, working ani-
mals for the most part must be kept on hay and grain during
the year. And further, as labor-saving machinery increases,
horse labor also increases, as most of it is operated by horses,
such as mowing, reaping and raking; also various kinds of
implements that are used on cultivated land to save the use of
the hoe. They are also used more than formerly for almost all
kinds of farm culture, especially getting in hay, as they will
travel much quicker, especially when returning from the barn
to the field. There are various other kinds of business which
are to be performed exclusively with horses.

There are also important considerations in favor of oxen.
Their cost is much less than horses : the cost of liarness in
which to work them is also less. They are better adapted to
some kinds of work, such as removing heavy stones, ploughing
rough land, and performing various other kinds of heavy work ;
and when past labor in consequence of old age or misfortune,
they are fattened and turned to the butcher, while the horse is
worthless.

As it has been before said, every farmer should be governed
by the circumstances in which he is placed, and not depend too
much upon the example or advice of his neighbors. He should
consider the labor to be performed, the means of keeping, and
all the other circumstances ; and then pursue such a course as
wisdom directs.

Joseph Howe, Chairman.

PLOUGHING. 127

rLYMOUTII.

From the Report of the Committee.

Our ploughing matches are mainly practical, perhaps too
much so ; and we think it might be well in the future, to allow
each competitor to plough the lot assigned him in his own
time, and in his own way, — to make liis furrows shallow or
deep, to cut them wide or narrow, to leave them flat or
inclined — giving him an opportunity of stating to the commit-
tee, if he chooses to do so, his reasons for preferring his pecu-
liar method of ploughing to all others. Under our present
system, the competitor, however competent he maybe to decide
such- questions, has nothing to do with the comparative advan-
tages of the different modes of breaking tlie soil. He is
merely to plough a given area, to a given depth, in a given
time, the conditions being previously fixed beyond his control,
and the committee have only to judge of his success or failure
in fulfilling these conditions ; in other words, to decide as to
the fitnesss of his plough, the training of his team, and the
skill and efficiency manifested in holding the one and guiding
the other.

Tlie mere theorist would say that the plough of this or that
particular model, having upon it this or that particular stamp
or device, and made by this or that particular manufacturer, is
alone reliable. The practical farmer selects that plough whose
work is most satisfactorily performed in the kind of soil where
it is chiefly to be used. A plough which is precisely adapted
to the silex of its owner's " barn field," or to the alumina of
his " nook pasture," may make but sorry work in the friable
loam of the Agricultural Society's grounds. Hence, many a
man, whose furrows on his own hill-sides or in his own valleys
are faultless, finds his work here the subject of disparaging
remark or of open ridicule, and that, too, without fault or
neglect on his part.

No ploughman can make perfect work without a well-trained
team; a team prompt to catch, from the slightest .motion or
sound, tlie intention and wish of the driver ; a team having,
as some animals seem to have, and others never have — a sort
of intuitive perception of the desirableness of an even yoke or
whiflle-bar ; of the economy of a " bee line " in the furrow,

128 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

and of the beauty of a regular curve at its ends. Our plough-
ing matches are, too often, a trial of the courage of a team
rather than a test of its training. It is one thing for spirited
animals to work well amid the familiar surroundings of the
farm where they were reared. It is another and a different
thing for them to do so amid the strange sights and sounds
incident to a cattle-show, where all is excitement and com-
petition— and where the completion of each furrow must be
effected by dint of a desperate charge at a noisy phalanx of
men and boys, who have little respect for the proprieties of the
place and the occasion, and whose highest idea of a successful
cattle-show seems to be realized in securing for themselves a
conspicuous position, within the lines at the ploughing match,
and within the railing on the horse track.

But with the ploughman rests, mainly, the question of success
or failure. If he is master of his art, his work, on land free
from obstructions, will be performed witli but slight expendi-
ture of muscular energy. He will not long own or drive
animals which he significantly characterizes as " unfacultied,"
or follow a plough which he can keep in position only by
walking on the unploughed sward, with his body at an angle
of forty-five degrees from the perpendicular ; or one whose work
he is compelled to complete by danting a hornpipe on its half-
turned furrows. He will " set in " with precisely his average
width of furrow, settling his plough at once to its running
depth. He will look carefully forward in search of any inequali-
ties in the surface or edge of his land ; for it is one of the best
tests of a skilful workman that his furrow is mapped out, to
his eye, far in advance of the end of his plough beam. If he
turns on the sward, he will leave it unbroken, and his middle
furrow will be so completely cleared of sods that a lady might
walk it without soiling her prunella. And above all he will be
cool and self-possessed, careful to manifest none of that profit-
less irritability, under mishaps, which is sometimes witnessed,
and which is equally certain to injure the quality of his work
and to elicit unfavorable comments from the bystanders. There
was no very noticeable deficiency, in these qualifications, in
any of the ploughmen at the present exhibition.

There were three competitors for the two premiums on plough-
ing with the Michigan plough. We were entirely unanimous in

PLOUGHING. 129

awarding the first premium to Mr. Soutliworth ; and wc were
equally unanimous in the opinion, indicated by the recom-
mendation of a gratuity, that the work of each of the others
was entitled to some substantial token of commendation. In
some respects, the work performed by Mr. Davis's plough was
not excelled by that of any on the ground, and it would have
been assigned a higher place in our award, but for the undue
haste manifested by the driver, and an apparent want of raechan-
nical skill so to adjust his plough as to secure a due proportion
between the width and depth of his furrow. We think the
practice of timing the work here objectionable. The committee
on ploughing should consist of men capable of judging, without
the aid of a watch, whether the movements of a team are active
and prompt ; while ploughmen and spectators should be dis-
abused of the common notion that a difference in time, of sixty
or ninety seconds, in ploughing an eighth of an acre, will have
any appreciable influence in determining the award of pre-
miums.

The three horses of Mr. Davis were harnessed abreast, after
the English fashion — an arrangement which is economical, in
that it enables the ploughman to drive his own team ; but we
think the line of draught is too much towards the landside for
a plough constructed on the usual centre-draught principle.
We have no doubt that a plough might be so made as to work
well with a team so harnessed.

Mr. Southworth is a veteran competitor for the society's
premiums. We could almost wish to see him an unsuccessful
one ; not to his disparagement, however, but because, when we
can see gathered here half a score of ploughmen more skilful
than he, we shall believe that in Plymouth County, at least,
the art of ploughing is rapidly approaching perfection. Mr.
Smith's team consisted of two horses only, apparently well able
to perform the work required of them. They were, of course,
more completely under the control of the ploughman than any
double team could be.

There were but two competitors for the six premiums on
ploughing with other than Michigan ploughs. The work of each
was well performed, the difference in its quality being, perhaps,
less than the difference in the premiums.
17

130 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

In one of the lots ploughed there are many atones withui
reach of the plough. As this portion of the society's grounds
seems to be dedicated to this particular use, we think they
should be removed. We should not recommend this, were these
obstructions so distributed as to test equally the skill of all the
ploughmen ; but it is not desirable that one of the competitors
should be subjected to constant annoyances from this source,
while each of the others is quietly and uninterruptedly pursuing
the even tenor of his way.

Did we suppose that the action of the trustees, in excluding
oxen from the present ploughing match, was indicative of a dis-
position on the part of the society to favor the entire substitu-
tion of horses, in the labors of the farm, or that such a policy
was likely to become general among farmers, we should most
earnestly protest against it. But while it continues to be the
case that the value of an ox is ever increasing, till he is fitted
for the butcher, — and that the value of a horse is as constantly
diminishing, till it comes to be measured only by tlic worth of
his skin, we think this matter may be safely left to those calcu-
lations of profit and loss which govern most of the transactions
of practical farmers.

MANURES.

WORCESTER NORTH.

Experiments ivith Manures, in accordance ivith the requirements
of the Slate Board of Agriculture.

Directions for jierforming the Experiments, given hy the Board.

" Select a level piece of land of any convenient size, from twenty
square rods up to as many acres or more, which should be as nearly
e(iual in its character and conditions as possible. Divide it into five
equal parts, numbering them 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

" Divide the manure which it is proposed to apply, and which should
be of a uniform character, into four equal parts. At the time of first
ploughing in the spring, spread evenly one-fourth of the manure upon
plot No. 1, and then plough the whole field of an equal dejjth. Apply

MANURES. 131

another fourth part of the manure to plot No. 2, and then cross plough
the Avhole field to about half the depth of the first ploughing. Spread
another fourth of the manure upon [)lot No. 3, and harrow or cultivate
the whole field ; after which sow or plant the whole evenly, with any
crop preferred. Finally, spread the remaining quarter part of the manure
upon plot No. 4.

" Observe that by pursuing this coui'se, each of the five lots will
receive equally, a deep ploughing, a shallow ploughing, and a harrowing
or cultivating, the only difference in them being that in No. 1 the manure
is buried deep, in No. 2 shallow, in No. 3 buried only slightly, but coated
Avith loam, and in No. 4 left exposed upon the surface ; while No. 5 gets
no manure. The manure is to be spread broadcast and as evenly as
possible. The after cultivation should be the same on each of the lots,
and the harvest of each should take place at the same time. * * *

" This experiment is to be continued through a rotation of three years,
but no manure is to be applied to the second or third crop. The rota-
tion would be preferi'ed if limited to corn, grain and grass, but is
optional." ******

[As these experiments are to be continued through a course
of three years, no report, except of progress, will be expected
until the third year, 1862. Three entries were made in this
department, and the competitors, severally, furnished the re-
quired statements, of which the following are abstracts. — Sec.^

Statement of Isaac B. Woodward.

The lot on which my experiment was tried contains twenty
square rods. The soil is rather heavy, being a black loam upon
a clay subsoil, is moist and retentive of manures. The crop
of 1859 was potatoes, manured at tlie rate of about three cords
of horse manure to the acre. For the present crop it was first
ploughed eleven inches deep ; manured with one hundred and
twenty bushels of green manure of neat stock, thirty bushels
to each of the four lots ; was planted with corn May 9th, the
corn being dropped by hand and covered with a hoe, and was
lioed three times, using the cultivator the first and last times,
and ploughing the second time.

As soon as my corn was planted the wire-worm commenced
to destroy it, and what little did come up the cut-worms took
at the halves, so that I could not liave any experiment this year,
but 1 hope for better success with wheat next year, and grass

132 MxVSSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

the year after. When I saw" ray corn was spoiled, I neglected
to keep the synopsis of the weather, required, but think it may
be called wet and cold.

Statement of Albert Stratton.
My lot contains forty-five rods ; the soil is rather heavy,
moist and retentive of manures. The crop of 1859 was grass,
without manure. It was first ploughed seven to eight inches
deep, two hundred and forty bushels of barn or stable manure
applied, and planted with corn, May 25th, in rows three and
one-half feet one way and three feet the other, with a hand-
hoe ; was cultivated three times, twice with a horse-hoe, and
once with a small plough, and followed each time with a hand-
hoe ; was harvested October 16, and the whole product of each
lot weighed.

No. 1 produced 125 lbs. corn and cob, and 140 lbs. stover.

2 " 200 " " 210 "

3 " 203 " " 215 "

4 " 155 " " 105 "

5 " 60 " " 65 "

The weather was as follows, viz. : —
May, first third, dry ; middle third, very dry ; last third, moist.
June, " wet; " moist; " moist.

July, " wet ; " moist ; " wet.

Aug., " moist ; " "wet ; " moist.

Sept., " moist ; " wet ; " wet.

In making this experiment, I divided forty-five rods into five
lots, nine rods each ; ploughed, harrowed, and applied the
manure according to the directions given for each lot ; but the
season has been rather unfavorable for moist land, and the
harvest not great, but it will show the cfTects of manure applied
at different depths, for the first and succeeding crops, other
things being equal.

Statement of W. G. IVi/man.
My experiment field contains one acre and thirty-two square
rods, divided into six equal parts of one-fifth of an acre each.
The soil is a heavy loam upon a clay subsoil ; is moist and

MANURES. 133

retentive of manures. The crop of 1859 was grass. No
manure has been applied during three years previous to
1860. It was first ploughed about seven inches deep, on the
12th of May, after a fine growth of grass had started, which
was turned under with a swivel-plough. Five cords of stable
manure from a barn cellar, made with horses, cows, and hogs,
one cord by accurate measure to each lot, 500 pounds Coe's
ground bone, 100 pounds to each lot, and 250 pounds Coe's
super-phosphate of lime, 50 pounds to each lot was applied, and
the field planted. May 23d, with common yellow corn, with a
corn planter, in rows three feet three inches apart each way.
It was cultivated with a horse-hoe four times each way, and
with a hand-hoe twice, and harvested, Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5,
October 29th, and Nos. 1 and 6 November 5th, and the whole
l^roduct of each plot weighed as follows, viz, : —

No. 1 produced 879 lbs. sound ears corn, 11 lbs. soft, and 1,100 lbs. stover.

2 " 785 « " 26 " 1,034 "

3 " 851 « « 22 " 1,092 «

4 « 819 " " 21 " 954 "

5 « 349 " « 54 " 354 «

6 " 859 " « 00 " 958 "

The weather was as follows, viz. : —

May, first third, dry ; middle third, very dry ; last third, moist.
June, " wet ; " moist ; " wet.

July, " very wet ; " wet ; " wet.

Aug., " moist ; " wet ; " moist.

Sept., " moist; " wet; " wet.

Having entertained the belief that the thorough intermixture
of manure with the soil to the depth to whicli it is cultivated
would prove most beneficial, I added another plot to those re-
quired. No. 6, similar in all respects to the others, and applied
to it the same kind and quantity of fertilizers, as to the others,
spreading one-third of the manure and bone on the grass before
the first ploughing, one-third after the first and previous to the
second or cross ploughing, and one-third after the cross plough-
ing before harrowing ; the super-phosphate of lime I applied to
the hills after the corn was planted. This plot took an earlier

134 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

start than either of the others, and looked better during the
early part of the season ; then No. 1 gained vipon it and took
the lead. The result is given above, with the exception that
the corn on No. 6 was riper and dryer than on either of the
others. All the plots except No. 6 were treated, in all respects,
in accordance with the directions given.

NANTUCKET.

Statement of Edward W. Gardner.

The piece of land which was selected for the experimental
apj)lication of manure, and entered by me for premium, lies in
the east pasture of " Cambridge farm," near the swamp. It is
a rich, sandy loam, with clayey and gravelly subsoil, retentive
of water and manure, but not wet ; and measures forty-five
feet by two hundred and twenty-five. For five years (and how
much longer unknown) previous to 1859, it had been in grass,
without any manure, and in that year yielded a good crop
of hay ; after which it was ploughed, and manured at the rate
of six cords of good barn cellar manure per acre, and was
planted with turnips ; but in consequence of the great amount
of charlock and dog grass which came up, but few turnips
grew. Those which got a start were very fine. The charlock
was pulled up and fed to the pigs, and not allowed to go to
seed ; and the dog grass was fed by stock in the fall. On the
30th of March, 1860, it was divided into five equal parts,
of forty-five feet square, and on No. 1 was evenly spread three-
fourths of a cord of barn cellar manure, composed of horse,
cow, and hog droppings, and a little peat muck, and the whole
was ploughed full eight inches deep. Tiie same quantity of the
same manure was spread on No. 2, and the whole was cross
ploughed four inches deep ; the same was put on No. 3, and
the whole was cultivated and harrowed. On the lltli of iMay,
it was ])lanted with three varieties of corn, as follows : the
hills were three feet apart, each way, and four kernels were j^ut
into each hill. In the two northern rows, I used small yellow
corn, from Berkshire; in the next seven rows, "top-over"
corn ; and in the remaining five rows, Nantucket white corn.
On the 7th of June it was cultivated, and hoed, and the missing

MANURES.

135

hills re-planted with Rhode Island premium corn, having no
other seed. On the Gth of July it was cultivated and hoed
again. On the 10th of September, cut the top stalks ; on the
IGth of October, weighed and put the stalks into the barn.
October 31, cut up the corn, husked and weighed it. The
following table will show the product of corn, of top stalks,
husks and stubble, from each division, and of each variety
of corn, and the produce per acre of each variety of corn,
and the stover.

No. 1. Manure 8 inches deep.

•s

i

03

is
§

.2-3

.5 ■a

o .

"^1

•s-S

J3 3

i

CD

bushels
e.

2

o

1

3 .

o

as

S a

u

J3 a

3

3

rt°"

s.

0) u

■g-M

O j2
-.a 3
J3 •;

o

o

^H

a

3

^ °

■s^

1^

te a

3

m

1^

2

30

Yellow,

116

20^

70

16

54

46 8-10

12

10

_

7

105

Top -over, .

355

96

69i

17

m

63

_

42

83

-

-

5

75
210

Nantucket,

227

891

75

22

53

72

-

30

62

-

-

14

698

206

-

-

-

60 6-10

84

155

239 5,462

1

No. 2.

Manure 4 inches deep.

2
7
5

30
105
75

210

Yellow, .
Top -over, .
Nantucket,

114
413
213

19
109
94

-

=

-

43 4-10
71 6-10

80

-

11
36
25

9

87
68

-

14

740

222

-

-

-

65

72

164

236' 5,394

No. 3. Manure cultivated in.

2
7
5

30

105

75

210

Yellow, •
Top over, .
Nantucket,

99
294
192

12

76
76

-

-

-

22 5-10
49 9-10
64 8-10

-

6
34
20

8
68
53

-

-

14

485

164

-

-

-

45 7-10

60

129

189 4,320

No. 4.

Manure spread on lop.

2
5

30
105
75

210

Yellow,
Top over, .
Nantucket,

1
64,

288!
196

8

73
65

-

-

_

12 8-10
46 4-10
55 4-10

~

5
S8
16

6

65
57

-

-

14

448

146

-

-

-

- 38 3-10

59

138

187i 4,274

No. 5. No Manure.'

2
7
5

30

105

75

210

Yellow, .
Top-over, .
Nantucket,

28; 3

73 10

132j 27

-

-

-

6 8-10

7 2-10
23

4
18
15

4 -
15 -

26 ! -

-

14

233| 40

- 12 3-10

37

45 I 82 1 1,874

The amount of rain in May, was 3.216 inches; June, 0.765; July, 2.138; August, 7,970; Sept.,
.050. Total, 21.139 inches.

13G MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Table of the Weather.
May, first third dry ; middle third, dry ; last third dry.
June, " dry; " dry; " dry.

July, " dry ; " dry ; " dry.

Aug., " dry; " moist; " ' dry.

Sept., " dry ; " dry ; " moist.

The yellow corn produced twenty-eight and six-tenths bush-
els of shelled corn, or two thousand pounds of ears, and two
thousand four hundred pounds of stover per acre ; and the
top-over, forty-seven and eight-tenths bushels, or three thousand
three hundred and twenty-eight pounds of corn, and four thou-
sand four hundred and twenty-five pounds of stover; and the
Nantucket, fifty-nine and nine-tenths bushels, or four thousand
four hundred and ninety-nine pounds of corn, and four thou-
sand seven hundred and sixty pounds of stover. The yellow corn
ripened two, if not three weeks sooner than either of the other
kinds, and was not so much injured by the August storm ; neither
was it all injured by the heavy frost of October 1st, which very
materially damaged the Nantucket, and did some harm to the
top-over. The Rhode Island premium, planted June 7th, fully
matured, and almost every ear was perfect.

I was induced to commence these experiments with the three
varieties of corn, with that of the manure, from the fact that
every member of the Board of Agriculture who has visited us,
has condemned our native white corn, and recommended the
culture of the yellow. But this experiment shows that the same
land, and manure, and culture, will produce over one hundred
per cent, more of the Nantucket variety than of the yellow, and
twenty per cent, more than the top-over, and a much smaller
proportion of stover to the pound of corn.

As the weather table shows, the whole of the three first
months after planting, were uncommonly dry ; in fact, not
enougli rain fell after the corn was planted, to wet the ground
one inch deep, until the 25th of August, when a very violent
storm of wind and rain prostrated it to the ground, and from
the injury it received, it uQver recovered. What the results
would have been with early rains, we can only conjecture.
The lot No. 1 produced the most stover, and less corn than

MANURES. 137

No. 2, while No. 3 had less than either of the two preceding it.
No. 4 less still, while No. 5 produced hardly a merchantable
ear. E. W. Gardner.

PLYMOUTH.

Statement of Amasa Howard.

The society, in 1857, offered premiums " for the most satis-
factory experiment to determine the most judicious application
of manure." I entered my name the following spring as an
applicant for the same, and now submit to you an account of
my operations and their results.

The land to be selected was " one acre, of even quality ; "
mine was also a light, sandy loam, in rather a high situation.
I commenced work upon it on the 18th of May ; drawing upon
one-half, which I shall call No. 1, twelve loads of barn manure,
made the previous winter, and ploughing it in, seven inches
deep. The other half, No. 2, I first ploughed, then drew on
the same kind and amount of manure, and harrowed both parts
thoroughly. On the 21st and 22d of same month, I planted it
to corn, of the kind known as " Smutty White," after furrow-
ing it three and a half feet square. There were four kernels
in each hill. It was cultivated and hoed twice during the month
of June, and the stalks were cut September 24th. The work
upon No. 2, in all instances, immediately succeeding that upon
No. 1.

October 27th, harvested No. 1, which yielded fifty-four and
one-half baskets, weighing 2,450 pounds.

October 29th, harvested No. 2, which yielded fifty-three
baskets, weighing 2,377 pounds.

January 10th, 1859, shelled and weighed it. No. 1 measured
thirty-three and one-sixteenth bushels, weighing 1,781 pounds ;
No. 2 measured thirty-five and eleven-sixteenth bushels, weigh-
ing 1,887 pounds ; No. 1 had twenty-two and one-half bushels
cobs, weighing 278 pounds ; No. 2 had twenty-four bushels
cobs, weighing 286 pounds.

The second year, 1859, I drew upon No. 1, May 9th, six loads-

of manure from under my barn windows, *and ploughed it in as

before ; ploughed No. 2, and harrowed in the same quantity ;

then sowed to barley and grass. I used one and a quarter

18

138 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

bushels of barley to each part, keeping them entirely distinct.
The grass seed was clover and fine top. It was threshed by
Kilbrcth, and yielded thirteen bushels each — not varying in
measure one pint.

The third year, 1860, 1 mowed the piece, which was mostly
clover, the 5th of July. On No. 1, there was 1,314 pounds ; on
No. 2. 1,006 pounds. August 16th, mowed again. On No. 1,
there were 605 pounds ; on No. 2, 416 pounds.

Statement of Nahum Snell.

To the committee on experimenting on one acre of land,
No. 13 in Agricultural Proceedings of 1858, in which the society
offers a premium for the best experiment for three crops in suc-
cession, to be awarded in 1861. As the three crops have all
been gathered, weighed and measured, it is as convenient to
send in the result of the same at this time as ever.

The acre of land that I have experimented upon was light,
warm loam, in sward. I spread seventeen loads upon half an
acre, and ploughed the same ; then ploughed half an acre and
spread on the same quantity. Harrowed the whole thoroughly,
then furrowed the same, putting seven loads upon each half
acre, and planted the whole on the 14th of May, 1858. On tbe
7th of October, Mr. Howland, the supervisor, measured one
rod where the manure was ploughed under the sod, which
weighed forty-five and one-half pounds ; the rod where the
manure was spread weighed forty-two and one-half pounds.
On the 20th of October the whole acre was weighed, — the half
acre where the manure was spread and ploughed under meas-
uring, in the ear, seventy-six bushels, and weighed 3,086 pounds ;
the half acre where spread on the surface measured seventy-seven
bushels, and weighed 3,120 pounds ; which, by adding eighty-
eight pounds on two rods carried home by the supervisor, makes
the whole weight at harvest 6,303 pounds. The whole acre of
corn, shelled on the 1st of January, 1850, measured — reckoning
fifty-six pounds to the bushel — sixty-eight and twenty-six fifty-
sixths bushels, leaving a gain of forty-three pounds upon the
half acre where the manure was spread upon the surface.

April 22d, 1859, sowed three and one-half bushels of four-
rowed barley, in equal parts, and sowed the same in grass.

INDIAN CORN. 139

Threshed the barley in October ; had twenty-nine bushels on
the acre — fourteen and one-half bushels on each half acre.

In July, 18G0, mowed the same, weighing the whole of each
half acre. The whole weighed 1,182 pounds, — the half acre
where the manure was spread and ploughed under weighing
five hundred ninety-six pounds, and other half acre five hun-
dred thirty-six pounds, leaving sixty pounds in favor of the
land where the manure was ploughed under the sward.

It Avould appear from this experiment that spreading and
ploughing under for the long term produces the most, but for
immediate use it is best to spread on the surface.

The above is a true statement of the crops. For further par-
ticulars, see Mr. Howland's report on the corn crop last year.

INDIAN CO UN

WORCESTER NORTH.

Statement of Joseph Goodrich.

The acre on which I raised my premium corn is a clayey
loam. It has been pastured for the last forty years. No
manure was applied in 1858 and 1859. It was plouglied only
once, about the middle of April, five to six inches deep ; har-
rowed thoroughly once ; furrowed one way about three and
one-half feet apart ; manured with about twenty-seven loads
compost, of about equal proportions of muck and droppings
from the cattle, composted in the barn cellar, about sixteen
loads spread and ploughed under, and eleven loads put in the
hill ; planted on the 5th and 7th of May by hand with six
quarts Carter corn in hills, averaging about two and one-half
feet apart ; hoed twice, ploughing in connection with the first
hoeing, and cultivated the second time ; had the top stalks cut
about the 14th of September. It was cut for husking about
the 29th of September. There are three apple trees on the
acre, and the corn under them was small. The cost of har-
vesting was increased in consequence of the storm and wind
prostrating the corn before topping.

140

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Cost of ploughing, etc.

about .

. 89 00

manure,

.

. 40 00

seed and planting.

4 00

cultivation, .

. . . .

7 00

harvesting, .

.

8 00

Total, .

. 868 00

Produce, 6,470 lbs. of cars of corn, weighed October 6th ;
and about three and one-fourth tons stover.

Statement of Albert Stratton.

The acre where my corn grew, is a light, gravelly loam,
on a steep side hill ; has been used for pasture land for
many years ; no manure was applied in 1858 and 1859. It
was ploughed once on the 1st of May, seven to eight inches
deep, and being hard to apply barn manure to, I used guano,
four hundred pounds, broadcast, harrowed in before planting ;
harrowed twice, and marked for planting one way ; applied one
hundred and fifty pounds Coe's super-phosphate of lime in the
hill, and two hundred pounds plaster ; planted May 24th and
25tli in hills, by hand hoe, four quarts Carter corn ; ploughed
and hoed twice ; harvested October 29.

Cost of ploughing, &c.,
manure,

seed and planting,
cultivation, .
harvesting, .

Total,

87 00

20

10

1

50

4

50

7

00

840 10

Produce, 5,072 pounds of ears of corn, weighed October 30 ;
and I should judge two tons of stover.

The result of the application of guano, and super-phosphate
and plaster, proved beyond my expectation.

Statement of Solon Carte?'.
The acre on which my corn grew, was in grass, without
manure, in 1858 and 1859 ; is a springy, stiff, clayey loam ;

$12

50

45

00

87

10

00

8

00

INDIAN CORN. 141

was plouglied in September, 1859, and twice in May, from
seven to eight inches ; harrowed, fnrrowed, mannrcd with
twelve loads spread, and fifteen loads applied in the hill, and
three hundred pounds super-phosphate of lime put upon the
manure in the hill before it was covered ; planted May 16, with
Randall & Jones's corn planter, with six quarts of Carter corn ;
harrowed both way's twice in a row ; hoed by hand ; thinned to
four stalks to a hill ; worked with a horse-hoe once in a row
one way and twice the other, followed with a hand-hoe ; then,
after haying, worked again with the horse-hoe once in a row
each way, and harvested October 30.

Cost of ploughing, etc., .....

manures, ......

seed and planting, ....

cultivation, ......

harvesting, ......

Total, $76 37

Produce, 4,958 pounds of ears of corn, weighed November
2d and 3d ; and three tons stover, estimated weight.

I think tlie crop on the 1st of August was equally promising
with that of 1858, but from that time the weather was so cold
that many of the second and third ears on the stalks did not
grow as long, nor fill so full as they would have done in an
ordinary season.

I present a sample of the Carter corn, and claim that it is
the best varietij known for cultivation in this latitude.

HAMPDEN.

Statement of Wilbur Wilson.

The acre of corn offered for consideration was one of six
similar acres. The land is a sandy loam, and grew the previ-
ous year corn and turnips. In April carted on fifteen cords of
manure to the acre. Planted the Demond variety, three feet
apart in drilled rows, or thirty-seven stalks to the rod. Fin-
ished planting April 25th, hoed twice, once in May and again

142 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

in June. Let it ripen untoppcd and standing. Commenced
cutting up and husking September 3d. Laid tlie corn ears on
a floor to dry, and when slielled, had seventy pounds of mer-
chantable corn to every one hundred pounds when first weighed.
Allowing sixty pounds to the bushel, it gives ninety-eight and
four-fifths bushels per acre. Weighed one hundred pounds of
fresh husked stover, and put it away to dry and it shrunk about
one-half. Also weighed one row out of thirty-seven on the
acre. Estimated from this that there were five thousand seven
hundred and thirty-five pounds dry stover to the acre. About
a ton of squashes grew on the same land.

RESULT.

98| bushels corn, $98 80

6,785 pounds of stover, worth, at $^7 per ton, . . 20 00
Squashes, 8 00

Labor, .
Fitting ground,
Harvesting, .
Manure,

Profit, $67 80

Agawam, November 1, 18G0.

NORFOLK.

Statement of John Sias.

The land on which the corn was raised, which I entered for
a premium, contains one hundred and fifty-two rods. The soil
is partly a yellow and partly a slate loam. Originally very
rocky, it was never ploughed before last fall, when the lot was
reclaimed from a woody, bushy pasture.

Last spring it was cross-ploughed, and a large quantity of
stones carted off. The roots and small bushes were burned on
the ground, and the ashes spread over the lot. The ground
was then harrowed, crossed out in the usual way, the rows
about four feet apart, the hills about three feet apart in the rows.

$126

80

. $4 00

. 2 00

. 8 00

. 45 00

859

00

INDIAN CORN.

143

It was manured with about five cords of stable and hog manure
put in the hills, and planted the 7th and 8th of May with six or
more kernels to a hill, of the Smutty White or Plymoutli
County corn. June 9tli it was cultivated and hoed the first
time ; July 2d it was cultivated and hoed tlie second time,
which was all the hoeing the field had. September 16th the
stalks were cut, cured and housed. The harvesting was fin-
ished November 2d, when we had one hundred and fifty-tliree
baskets equal to those gathered and weighed by the committee
when on the ground, making the yield eighty-three bushels and
thirty-seven pounds, at the rate of eighty-seven bushels and
forty-seven pounds per acre. The expense and profit I reckon
as follows : —

Dr.

Ploughing, . .

Harrowing and burning roots,

Five cords of manure.

Half bushel of seed corn.

Planting, ....

Cultivating and hoeing twice, .

Cutting and curing stalks.

Harvesting, ....

Taxes and interest on land,

Ashes from burnt brush and roots estimated at

$7 50

4

50

30

00

1

00

6

50

7

25

3

75

6

00

3

25

10

00

$79 75

Cr.

83 bushels and 37 pounds corn at $1,
4,900 pounds top stalks at $15 per ton,
6,000 pounds butts and husks at $7.50,

Profit, . . . ,

$83 m

36

75

22

50

$142 91

$63 16

Or at the rate of $66.31 per acre, without adding any thing
for the manure left in the ground.

Milton, November 7, 1860.

144 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Statement of B. N. Sawin.

My experiment in raising Indian corn was made on one and
a half acres of land, the soil consisting of a sandy loam, which
had been improved as a mowing field for eight years, without
any manure or dressing, producing not more than one thousand
pounds of hay per acre. In November last I ploughed with a
Michigan plough eight inches deep. The eighteenth of May I
harrowed with cultivator harrow, and furrowed with a plough,
making the hills two feet ten inches apart each way. I took
six cords of unfermented manure from the barn cellar, applied
it all in the hill, and commenced planting. The corn was an
eight-rowed variety of yellow, and has been raised in this vicinity
for more than forty-seven years. I used one of C. H. Sawin's
corn-droppers, putting four or five kernels in a hill; a cultivator
was used between the rows, and hoed once lightly, leaving the
surface level. The top stalks were cut September 11th and
14th. The corn was harvested October 18th to 25th. The
committee selected two rods in different parts of the field,
which they considered a fair average of the field, which yielded
forty-seven pounds of shelled corn ; and allowing fifty-six pounds
to the bushel, gave one hundred and five-sevenths bushels, or
sixty-seven and one-seventh bushels per acre.

The expense of the crop was as follows, viz. : —

Interest on value of land at fifty cents per acre, and
taxes, .......

Harrowing and furrowing, ....

Applying manure and planting,

Six cords manure, .....

Sixteeen quarts seed,

Crow line, .......

Cultivating one way and hoeing by boy, .
Pulling weeds by boy, .....

Cutting and binding stalks, ....

Harvesting corn, .....

Total, $^57 32

f5

25

1

75

7

50

30

00

68

15

2

37

50

2

25

G

87

INDIAN CORN.

145

The value of the crops is as follows : —

30G bunches stalks at two cents each, . $6 12

3,000 pounds husks at 30 cts. per hundred, 9 GO

lOOf bushels corn at $1 per bushel, . 100 14

Credit by one-half manure unspent, . 15 00

Leaves a net profit of

$130 26

-172 94

The corn cost about twenty-seven cents and two mills per
bushel. My object in making this experiment was to prove
that the largest crops are not always the most profitable.

Dover, November 13, 1860.

Statement of Philamon Rugg-les.

I planted one acre and fourteen rods of ground, measured
by Charles Breck, and on this I raised ninety-four bushels and
six pounds of corn.

The expense of raising said corn was as follows : —
Seven cords of manure, $Q per cord, two-thirds of the

strength expended, ..... 828 00

Getting out manure and spreading the same,
Ploughing, twice.
Planting,
Hoeing, twice.
Cutting stalks,
Husking corn.
Getting in butts and stalks.
Seed corn.
Interest on land,

00
00
50
00
50
25
00
50
9 00

Value of corn.

To two tons of top stalks.

To two tons of butts.

Net profits, .

169 75

INCOME.

,

. $94 11

, ,

30 00

.

15 00

*=i'1S9 11

$Qd 36

I have usually planted in drills, dropping my corn, a kernel
in a place, in a zig-zag form, on each side of the drill altcr-

19

146 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

iiatcly. But tliis year I have planted in hills two feet apart,
and the rows three and a half feet apart, running north and
south. I plough in half of my manure, and the other half I
put in the drills. I plough my ground twice in the spring.
On part of the ground I raised corn last year, and on the other
part I raised rye. I have usually cut out the suckers, thinking
it would benefit the corn ; but I find on trial, that it has but
little effect on the corn, and the suckers themselves produca
good feed for cows giving milk. You may be inquiring after
soft, or pig corn, so called. I had only eight baskets of this
kind, and these consisted of short cars, and broken pieces of
corn which were mostly sound.

Milton, October 31, 18G0.

NANTUCKET.

Statement of Allen Smith.
Having entered as a competitor for the premium for the best
experiment in raising corn, I will state that the land on which
it grew is a sandy loam, and has been cultivated seven years.
Last year (1859) it was planted to Avheat, and produced about
fifteen bushels per acre. Last fall I spread twenty-five one-
horse loads of night-soil, and ploughed about nine inches deep.
In the spring, spread twenty-five loads, and cultivated and
harrowed until it was very fine. April 21st, planted with a
machine about two inches deep, in rows twenty-one inches
apart, and about ten inches apart in the rows, two kernels in a
hill. Kind of corn used, yellow and top-over. I used the wheel
hoc, going through it three times, and once with the hand hoe.
About tlic first of June, thinned to about one hundred and
fifty stalks to the rod. Cut the stalks the middle of Septem-
ber ; harvested the first of October ; and the produce was one
hundred and eighty-seven bushels of ears of good corn, and
five bushels of soft corn per acre.

VALUE OP CROP.

187 bushels of ears, at 50 cents per bushel, . . $93 50

2 tons of stalks, 20 00

2 tons butts and husks, sold for $G per ton, . . 12 00

$125 50

WHEAT.

147

EXPENSE OP CROP.

Ploughing and harrowing,

Planting,

Value of seed,

Hoeing,

Cutting and binding stalks.

Harvesting,

Interest on land,

Fifty loads manure.

Net gain,

. 13

50

75

75

5

00

5

00

6

00

3

00

. 25

00

$49 00

$76 50

WHEAT.

ESSEX.

Statement of Joseph Neioell.

I enter for premium a crop of wheat (spring) of the Bald
variety, which grew on one acre and forty-two rods of land,
and weighed 2,315 pounds, as per certificate enclosed with this
statement.

The ground till last year had been mowed for a long time ;
last season it was planted with corn, and manured as follows:
I spread upon the sward twenty ox-cart loads of barn manure,
and ploughed in about eight inches deep ; I then spread upon
the furrow as many loads more of the same kind of manure,
and harrowed in well and planted ; after the corn came up, I
applied a handful of ground clam-shells to each hill.

The present season, for my wheat crop I ploughed the lot tlie
10th day of April, and prepared as usual by harrowing well ;
on the 14th I sowed three bushels of grain prepared as
follows : I took a half hogshead and filled it two-thirds full of
water, then putting in the grain a little at a time, skimming all
that floated on the surface, and cleansing it thoroughly ; then
draining off the water, I added strong brine (beef brine)
enough to cover the grain, and let it remain say eighteen

148 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

hours ; I then shoveled the grain mto a cart, wet, mixing with
as much slacked lime as would adhere to it, and immediately
sowed broadcast, and harrowed twice. This was on the 14th
of April.

The 20th day of April I sowed grass seed on the same lot,
and harrowed twice again, and on the 23d rolled it, which
finished the labor till harvest. I cut it on the 10th day of
August, put it into the barn on the 18th, and threshed it the
next week ; threshed with flail, and winnowed it twice. The
result has exceeded my expectations, yielding tliirty bushels
strong of plump grain, weighing sixty pounds per bushel to
the acre. No manure or dressing of any kind was applied to
the crop this year, only as above stated. The soil is a heavy
loam, underlying which is a slate ledge, which in many places
comes to the surface.

As wheat is the most valuable of the cereal grasses, so it
requires the greater care to produce it. The soil intended for
its reception, should be brought into as fine condition as pos-
sible. To accomplish this, manuring and thorough culture are
indispensable. If this is attended to, the soil will be in a loose
and fertile state, and will possess such a depth of tiltli as will
have a tendency to preserve it in good condition. Some crops
especially corn, require high manuring, but with wlieat, I think
the case is otherwise. Land very rich, or very highly manured,
is apt to cause, during the hot season of summer, a too rapid
growth of straw at the expense of the seed ; and rust, lodging,
and ultimate failure, is frequently the consequence. But I find
myself digressing from a mere statement of the crop in ques-
tion, and return to give an estimate of cost, &c., in making up
which, I charge the usual price for such woik in this vicinity.

EXPENSE OF CROP.

To one day, self, man, and two yoke of oxen, ploughing,

" " and two horses, harrowing.

Three bushels seed, .......

Sowing and rolling, ......

Cutting, ........

Binding up and putting into barn, ....

Threshing and clearing up, .....

Interest on land, $200 per acre, ....

$42 75

$4 00

3

00

6

00

1

00

75

5

00

8

00

15

00

WHEAT. 149

$77 00

20

00

$97

00

42

75

Credit by 88| bushels wheat, at $2 per bushel,
2|- tons straw, $8 per ton.

Net, . . $54 25

"West Newbury, September, 18 GO.

Statement of Eben G. Berry.

I present for premium a crop of wheat raised on one acre of
ground. The seed being a part of ten bushels grown from one
half bushel the previous year, near the same spot. The seed
was originally purchased in Boston. The amount sown this
present season in May was five pecks. Amount harvested in
August was twenty-six bushels, measured, weighing sixty-four
pounds to the bushel.

The land the previous year was planted with corn, and was
in a fair state of cultivation. The dressing applied was com-
post, stable manure and soil thrown in the hills, twenty loads
to the acre. The soil is a clayey loam, free from rocks, and
was twice ploughed, eight inches deep, by one man and a pair
of horses, then, when sufficiently dry, was harrowed, sown and
bushed. The crop was harvested and threshed by hand.

Danvers, September 25, 1860. '

Statement of David Pettingill.
I offer for premium my crop of wheat grown on one acre,
the product being thirty-one and a half bushels, weighing sixty-
four and a half pounds to the bushel. The kind sown was the
Bald-head wheat. The soil is a dark gravelly loam. The land
was broke up in the fall of 1857, and planted with corn in the
spring of 1858. The manure applied was five cords of stable
dressing per acre. It was planted with corn in the spring of
1859, with four cords of stable manure applied to the acre. I
used no manure the present season. The wheat was sown on
the 18th of April ; the quantity of wheat sown was five pecks.
I let my wheat stand till ready to thresh. I harvested August
21st.

150

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

EXPENSE OF CROP.

Interest on land,

Ploughing,

Sowing and harrowing.

Five pecks of seed, .

Reaping and binding,

Carting, .

Threshing,

Winnowincr and use of machine.

Credit by 31| bushels and two quarts, at -$2

per bushel, .... $'63 12
Straw, 12 00

16 00

2 00

1 50

2 50

4 00

1 00

3 00

1 00

Net, . . . .

ToPSFiELD, November 8, 18G0.

i21 00

$15 12
i54 12

Statement of Daniel G. Todd.

I present for your consideration, a crop of wheat raised on
one acre of land, which was surveyed by Edward Smith of
Rowley. It was sowed upon the 31st of March last. The
land was ploughed and sowed in less than one day. The
ground was harrowed before sowing, all at a cost of two
dollars. The ground, two years ago, was worn out field-land ;
formerly it was bushy pasture land, not worth its taxes, being
a light sandy loam. It was top-dressed with four cords of com-
post manure, w^orth eight dollars. The ground was broke up
last year, and planted with potatoes, and manured with salt hay
in the hill. I had a good crop. The wheat raised was the
China-tea wheat. On this acre there were 1,445 lbs., making
twenty-four bushels and five pounds. I sowed two bushels on
this acre. The expense of harvesting, threshing and cleaning,
was $6.25. This M'hcat was weighed in the presence of three
disinterested persons. It was thought by those who cut and
bound, that we lost from one-fifth to one-fourth by shelling out.

Rowley, September 25, 18G0.

WHExVT. lil

WORCESTER NORTH.

Statement of Solon Carter.
The acre on which my wheat grew, is a clayey loam. The
crop of 1858 was grass, without manure; that of 1859 corn,
with twenty-five loads of manure spread, and plouglied in. The
corn hills were split two furrows to a row, November IG, 1859 ; in
April, these rows were split as before, and plouglied once, eight
to ten inches deep. It was sowed April 25th, with two bushels
coffee wheat, covered with a harrow, bushed and rolled ; reaped
by hand from the 10th to the 15th of August.
No manure was used for the present crop.

Cost of ploughing, &c., $5 00

seed and sowing, ..... 3 75

harvesting, ...... 9 00

Total, $17 75

Produce, 2,167| lbs. wheat, weighed September 11 ; and one
and a half tons straw.

Statement of Cyrus Kilburn.

The lot on which my wheat grew contained one hundred
and ninety-nine rods ; is a clayey loam. The crop of 1858 and
1859 was corn, with twenty-five loads barnyard manure each year ;
it was ploughed once, five or six inches deep ; harrowed ; three
or four loads of coarse manure spread on a strip of wet, springy
land ; sowed the last week in September, 1859, with two bush-
els per acre of Blue-stem winter wheat ; reaped the last of
July, bound, stooked twenty-five sheaves to a stook, covered
with large hay caps, and when dry, carted to the barn and
threshed from the cart with a threshing machine.

The wheat on the wet strip, fifteen to eighteen square rods,
proved almost a failure, being thrown out by the frost.

Cost of ploughing, &c.,
manure,

seed and sowing,
harvesting, .

Total, .

$5 00
4 00
0 00

11 00

$2(3 00

Produce, 2,476 lbs. wheat, weighed August 3d ; and two tons
straw.

152

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND HAMPDEN.

Statement of Moses Stebbins, of South Deerfield.

The field of wlieat wliicli I offer for a premium, contains two
acres, forty-four rods of ground ; was in corn in 1859. With'
twenty loads of manure, one hundred and fifty pounds guano,
one hundred and fifty pounds plaster, spread broadcast and
ploughed in together, ten inches deep; product, by estimation,
eighty bushels corn per acre.

In April, 1860, ploughed the same eight inches deep, and
sowed four bushels of wheat, of the China variety, without
any dressing, harrowed well four times, harvested the first week
in August. Product, eighty-six bushels, of sixty pounds to the
bushel, or thirty-eight bushels per acre.

RESULT OP

SOWING W^HEAT.

Dr.

Ploughing 2 acres, 44 rods.

. • . •

. $3 50

Sowing 4 bushels seed,

....

8 00

Harrowing,

. • • •

2 00

Harvesting and threshing.

....

. 15 00

Interest on land,

Or.

. 13 50

$42 00

By 86 bushels wheat, at $1.50 per bushel, $129

00

two tons straw, at $5 per

ton, . . 10

00

897 00

HAMPSHIRE.

Statement of John A. Morton^ of Hadley.
My crop of wheat, which is entered for a premium, grew on
one acre and eighty rods of ground. In 1859 I put on twenty
loads of green manure, and ploughed in, to the acre. Put a part
of the land to tobacco and part to corn ; got a fair crop of each.
About the middle of April, 1860, I ploughed the land seven
inches deep, put on six loads of compost on the poorest part of
this lot, and run a harrow over it to level it before sowing ; put
four bushels wheat into strong brine made of salt, eight hours.

WHEAT. 153

turned off the brine and added slacked lime until it was suffi-
ciently dry to sow. The wheat was sown April IStli, and har-
rowed in with a cultivator harrow. (Grass seed was afterward
rolled in.) The crop was harvested August 7th ; the produce
was fifty-two bushels of good clean wheat, weighing sixty-three
pounds per bushel.

Dr.
Ploughing, sowing and harvesting, . . . . $8 00

4 bushels of seed, . . . . . . . 8 00

Threshing and cleaning, . . . . . . 10 00

Salt and lime, 50

52 bushels wheat, at
2 tons straw.

$74 50
Statement of Levi Stockhridge.
My experiment with wheat was tried on two acres and ninety-
three rods of land. The soil was a sandy loam. It was in
broomcorn in 1859, and part of it had been planted to broom-
corn, more than forty successive years. The land was ploughed
the 14th of April, and sown the 16th. Instead of using the
harrow, the seed was put in with a large cultivator. No
manure was applied, and the seed (two bushels and one-lialf to
the acre) was sown without any previous preparation. It was
harvested the 7th and 8th of August, and threshed the 28th
and 29th, yielding one hundred bushels of well-cleaned wheat,
weighing sixty-four pounds to the bushel, and three and one-
half tons of straw. The expense of raising was as follows : —

Seecl, $10 50

Ploughing and harrowing, . . . . . 5 25

Harvesting, ........ 6 00

Threshinff . 10 00

$26 50

Cr.

.75 per bushel,

. $91 00

• • •

. 10 00

1101 00

Total, $31 75

I make no estimate of tlie value of the wheat and straw,
thinking it better for the committee to make some standard
value for all competitors.

20

154

^lASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

HAMPDEN.

Statement of Silas Root.

"^ViNTER Wheat. — The crop of wlieat presented for consid-
eration was grown on one acre and five rods of ground, the soil
heavy loam. I thought it too heavy for wheat, but as a matter
of experiment, concluded to try one acre. The ground had
lain in grass for a long term of years previous to 1858. In
June of that year turned under the turf with a double or
Michigan plough, and planted it to tobacco, manuring it well
in the hill. The next season put on twenty loads of stable
manure ; ploughed the land twice, and set with tobacco, after
manuring in the hill, getting a large growth of tobacco. The
last week in September, ploughed the land and sowed long
bearded wheat, the same that I have raised for more than
twenty years. I have often sowed other kinds of wheat grown
in other States, in the same field side by side, and have never
found any that would stand the winter and the blight equal to
this. My uniform practice is to sow two bushels of seed to the
acre. The growth was very large, and some parts of it were
badly lodged. The lodged part was well filled, but the berry
not tpiitc as heavy as the standing grain. The crop was
harvested the last of July.

Had 45| bushels of grain, worth
3,400 pounds of straw,

Profit,

$68 06
17 00

$85 06

Ploughing and sowing,

$2 00

2 bushels seed, .

3 00

Unspent manure,

10 00

Interest and taxes on land,

7 00

Harvesting,

4 00

Threshing and cleaning, .

4 50

830 50

$54 56

The cultivation of wheat is considered by some unprofitable
or unsafe business. I have been in constant practice of sowing

WHEAT. 155

from one to three acres of winter wheat for more than twenty
years, and during that time have carefully noted the result,
and am satisfied with ray course, although in some instances I
have had a partial failure. But on the whole, I am satisfied
that I have obtained more bushels of wheat from the same
ground than I could have had of rye, to say nothing of the dif-
ference in the value of the two grains. I am sure tliat wheat
is the best crop to follow tobacco, for the land is all fitted —
nothing to do but plough the land and sow the seed. Next to
this, green sward turned in in August, and sown in September,
with a light dressing of compost or ashes, and the surface well
pulverized, will ensure a good crop.

Westfield, November, 18G0.

StatemeM of H. 31. Sessions.

Spring Wheat. — On the 12th of April last one acre of land
was ploughed, and on the 16th, sowed with one and a half
bushels of White Bald-wheat, and three pecks of grass seed.
August 7th, fifty shocks of grain were harvested that yielded
twenty-seven bushels of wheat, weighing sixty-one pounds to
the bushel. The year previous the land was broken up and
planted with potatoes. Before this, it had been pastured near
thirty years. A part of the lot was underdrained, it being too
wet for any crop. Sixteen loads of manure were ploughed
under each year, consisting of the scrapings of yards and pens,
chip-dirt, old plastering, &c. Thirty bushels of .leached ashes
were harrowed in with the wheat. The wheat was soaked
twelve hours in brine and rolled in lime and plaster before sow-
ing. After the wheat and grass seed were sown the lot was set
with apple trees. The part that was underdrained being rather
cold and heavy, yielded but little wheat, but promises well for
grass.

Value of 27 bushels wheat, 854 00

Straw, 17 00

871 00

$4 00

3 00

5 00

(3 00

S18 00

156 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Ploughing and sowing,
11 bushel seed,
Harvesting and threshing,
Interest on land, .

Profit, $53 00

South Wilbraham, October, 1860.

NORFOLK.

Statement of A. L. Smith.

The field of wheat entered by me for premium, measures one
hundred and seventeen rods, and was part of an old pasture
until 1858, when it was ploughed and planted with potatoes,
manured with coarse manure composed mostly of meadow hay,
that had been used for litter under the cattle. In 1859 it was
in corn, with a good shovelful of compost manure applied to
each hill. Soil, a gravelly loam. The first week in May last I
ploughed the ground seven inches deep, and the next week
sowed one bushel Java wheat, one cask air-slacked lime, and
ten bushels of leached ashes, when the whole were harrowed in
together. Harvested in August twelve bushels good wheat,
weighing sixty pounds per bushel.

■

EXPENSES OF CROP.

Ploughing, once, $1 75

Seedj 82.50, lime and ashes, $1.13, .

Sowing seed, lime and ashes, 50 cts., harrowing, 75 cts..

Cradling, 75 cents, binding, $1,

Threshing, $1.50, carting straw, $2, .

Interest on land, and taxes,

VALUE OF CROP.

Twelve bushels wheat, ....

Thirteen hundred pounds straw, sold at 75 cts . ,

Net profit, $19 63

Dover, October 15, 18G0.

.

3 63

75 cts..

1 25

,

1 75

, ,

3 50

•

2 24

$14 12

$24 00

9 75

$33 75

WHEAT.

157

NANTUCKET.

Statement of Allen Smith.

The acre of land on which I raised my winter wheat is rather
high ground, and is what may be called sandy loam. Has been
planted three years ; first to corn, then to potatoes. The wheat
was^sown after harvesting the potatoes, about the last of Sep-
tember. The kind sowed was the Blue-stem, and is probably
the best for our soil and climate. Sowed one and one-half
bushels. The land when planted to potatoes, w^as manured at
the rate of about fifteen one-horse loads per acre. No manure
was used on the wheat. It came up well, and spread so as
nearly to cover the ground before winter. There was very little
killed by the winter. It grew luxuriantly, and produced a
large crop of straw. It suffered very much from the drought
of July, but notwithstanding, I had twenty-six and one-half
bushels of as fine wheat as I ever saw, weighing sixty pounds
per bushel.

VALUE OF CROP.

26-^- bushels wheat, sold for $2 per bushel,
1 ton straw, .....

EXPENSE OF CROP.

Ploughing,

1| bushels wheat,

Sowing and harrowing,

Cradling, .

Binding and carting, .

Threshing, 25 cents per bushel.

Interest on land.

Net profit,

.

$53 00

•

7 00

$60 00

$2 50

3 00

1 50

1 00

1 25

6 63

3 00

US 88

$41 12

158 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

H YE.

HAMPDEN.

Statement of S. D. Smith.

This crop was grown on forty-six rods of ground. Previous
crop, tobacco. After the tobacco was taken ofF, I cultivated it
with a common cultivator, sowed the rye and harrowed it in
about the middle of August, 1859. The growth of tlie straw
was rank, some straws measuring eight feet. The yield of rye
was thirteen bushels, making forty-five bushels -per acre. The
soil of a clayey loam.

. .

$1Z 00

•

5 25

818 25

$0 50

22

4 00

$i 75

13 bushels rye, $1 per bushel,
I ton straw, $1,

Preparing ground and sowing.
Seed, l bushel, . . .
Harvesting and threshing, .

Net profit, $13 50

West Springfield, November 1, 1860.

Statement of Joseph A. Smith.

The crop of rye which 1 present for your consideration was
raised on one and one-third acres of land. The yield was —

40 bushels, weighing CO pounds to the bushel,
2 tons of straw, at |8 per ton, .

Ploughing and harrowing, . . " .
1}, Imshcls seeds, at '1t!l,
Harvesting and threshing, ....
Interest and taxes,

Net profit, $30 00

.

840 00

•

16 00

$'oQ 00

12 50

1 50

8 00

14 00

$26 00

BARLEY. • 159

The land on which the above was raised was a dark loam, in
good condition, from which, the last year, was raised a crop of
corn. The rye was sowed after cutting up the corn the last of
September, and sown with grass seed, which promises well.

West Springfield, November 8, 1860.

BARLEY.

ESSEX.

Statement of John L. Hubbard.
I would call your attention to a crop of barley raised by me
on one hundred and forty-six rods of land. This crop was
raised on two pieces of land, the whole being included in the
survey, and at the time of sowing was supposed to contain one
acre. The first lot of fifty-nine rods and eleven links, had been
under cultivation three years ; two with corn, and one with
potatoes, as a kind of experimental lot to test the best manner
of applying manure ; but the trial being unsatisfactory, I will
only say that the land was well manured, and carefully culti-
vated. The soil is a clay loam, the clay in some spots cropping
out. Its produce being less than half a ton of very poor hay
to the acre, and lying adjoining a fresh meadow, is what is
usually called cold, heavy land. It was ploughed the last week
in April, and six loads, of twenty-five bushels each, spread on .
the furrow and harrowed in. The manure was from the horse
stable, worked over by the hogs. After harrowing, the land,
from its clayey texture, was very niibby, so much so that a
roller was passed over it before sowing ; two bushels of seed
were sown ; it was harrowed once, the grass seed sown and
harrowed, and finished by rolling. The seed came up quick,
even, and grew rapidly, and on the 17th day of June some of
it was in head ; on the 4th of July it was in full head, and had
begun to show the " red row," standing about three and a half
feet high, being the liandsomest barley 1 ever saw. A shower
on that day beat down a part of it, which never came up again.

iGO jJassachusetts agriculture.

The crop was harvested the tliird week in July, giving thirty-
two large cocks on the lot. The other piece, containing eighty-
six rods, fifteen links, was worked one day after the first. The
land in this case was of much hetter quality than the other, a
part of it heing high, sandy loam, running to a lower level,
and a deep black loam. This had been in cultivation two years ;
with corn the first. It was manured in the hill with equal
parts of old and green manure composted together. The
second year the manure was ploughed in at the rate of twenty-
five full ox-cart loads to the acre, consisting of manure from
the horse stable, thrown in the barnyard as it was teamed from
the city in the fall and winter. When this lot was ploughed
this spring, so much manure of the last year's application was
turned out, that it was thought unnecessary to apply any more.
The land in this case was only harrowed before sowing ; the
after treatment being the same as in the other case. This did
not come up so even as the other, owing, I think, to its not
being rolled before sowing. The yield in this case was forty
large cocks from two and a half bushels of seed. The yield in
grain, as will be seen by the certificates herewith presented, was
forty-two and one-quarter bushels from the one hundred and
forty-six rods of land, weighing fifty-two pounds to the measured
bushel, being 2,197 pounds, or within eleven pounds of forty-
eight bushels, at the society's standard of forty-six pounds to a
bushel, within a fraction of fifty-two and a third bushels to the
acre.

My design in the management of the above named land, was
to obtain a good crop of grain, and have the land left in good
condition for grass ; and my experience, in this and other cases,
satisfies me that that is the best way to attain that end. It has
always seemed to me, that it is almost useless to expect a good
crop of hay, after taking from the land a crop of corn or
potatoes and a crop of grain, without the application of any
manure after the hoed crop.

It may be thought by many that the amount of seed sown
was much too large, but I am satisfied that it was not the case,
fur those parts of my grain that were the thinnest, lodged the
most. Land that is under a high state of cultivation, needs
heavy seeding, and if you do not grow straw, you will be sure

BARLEY.

161

to grow weeds. I am satisfied too, that rolling previous to
sowing, is of very great advantage. I think, to get the best
crop of grain, the land should be as fine as an onion bed,
because you can see to sow it much more even ; the seed gets
more evenly covered, and consequently comes up more nearly
at the same time. In conclusion, I would say that I entered
this crop for a premium, on the supposition that I had an acre,
but on surveying it, it fell short. I have made this statement,
and you can make any use of it you think proper. The certifi-
cates are all enclosed with this statement.

EXPENSE OF CROP.

Ploughing, sowing and covering,

Seed,

Harvesting, ....
Threshing, ....
3Ianure, ....

Credit by 2 tons of straw, $Q per ton.
Grain, ......

Net,

Newbury, November 15, 1860.

$6 00

3 37

3 50

6 00

6 00

$21 87

U2

00

33

41

U5 41

120 54

WORCESTER NORTH.

Statement of Cyrus Kilburn.

The field on* which my barley grew, contains two hundred
and thirty-nine rods ; it is a clayey loam ; was planted with
corn in 1858, with about twenty loads barnyard manure ; and
also with corn in 1859, with about twenty-five loads barnyard
manure ; was ploughed once five or six inches deep ; harrowed ;
sowed about the middle of April with a mixture of two and
six-rowed barley from St. Johns, C. E., at the rate of three
bushels per acre ; and was mowed about the last of July, raked,

21

162 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

cocked and covered with hay caps ; when dry, carted to the
barn and threshed, with a threshing machine, from tlie cart.
No manure was used for the present crop.

Cost of ploughing, &c., .
seed and sowing,
harvesting,

Total,

$6 00
6 00
8 00

mo 00

Produce, 2,685 lbs. barley, weighed August 2d ; and about
two tons of straw.

Statement of Solon Carter.

The acre which produced my barley was in grass in 1858,
without ma,nure ; in corn in 1859, with twenty-five loads
manure spread and ploughed in ; the soil is a clayey loam ;
it was ploughed by splitting the hills, two furrows to a row,
November 16th, 1859, and in April, these were split as before and
ploughed once eight to ten inches deep ; sowed April 25th, with
two and one-half bushels two-rowed barley ; harrowed, bushed,
rolled and mowed by hand, July 27th. No manure was used
for the present crop.

Cost of ploughing, &c., $5 00

seed and sowing, 2 75

harvesting, 7 00

Total, $14 75

Produce, 1,700 lbs. barley, weighed October 4th ; and one
and three-quarters tons of straw.

The crop was, during its growth, a very promising one, but
just as it headed there came a rain, accompanied with wind,
which beat it down so that it never recovered, consequently
much of it did not mature. I think the crop was made one-
third less by this accident, if so it may be called.

BARLEY.

163

NANTUCKET.

Statement of Allen Smith.

Having entered as a competitor for the best experiment in
raising barley, I will state that the land on which it grew was
a good, strong, sandy loam, containing four acres ; but, owing
to a part of it lodging, I mowed three-fourths of an acre, leav-
ing three and one-quarter acres, which produced one hundred
and fifty and one-half bushels of barley. The land had been
planted to corn two years, and produced a good crop. This
year, in March, I spread twenty-four one-horse loads of barn
manure to the acre, and ploughed about the 20th of March ;
and the 29th, two bushels of common two-rowed barley were
sown to the acre, and well harrowed. It came up even, and
considering the dry weather, looked well through the season.
There was not rain enough to wet the ground through from the
time it was sowed, until it was harvested.

It was cut July 20th, and threshed the 1st of August, and
measured one hundred and fifty and a half bushels, or forty-six
and four-thirteenths bushels per acre.

VALUE OF CROP.

150| bushels of barley, at 80 cents per bushel,

per ton, .

3^ tons of straw, at

$120 40
27 25

$147 65

EXPENSE OF CROP.

Ploughing and harrowing.
Six and one-half bushels barley
Twenty-four loads of manure,
Mowing and getting in.
Threshing and cleaning, .
Interest on land,

$9 75

6

50

12

00

6

50

20

07

9

75

$64 57

Net gain,

$83 08

1G4

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

O A T S .

NORFOLK.

Statement of A. L. Smith.

The field of oats entered by me for premium, contains ^one
and a half acres. Planted with corn last year, and manured
with a shovelful of compost in the hill. Soil, a moist, gravelly
loam. Ploughed and sowed the first week in May last, with
four and a half bushels of Australian oats. Before harrowing
them in I spread ten bushels of leached ashes on about one-
fourth of the piece, but did not perceive that the crop of oats
was much benefited by it, although I have no doubt the future
crops of grass will be. Owing to the press of haying, the oats
were not cut until over ripe, and a storm coming on soon after,
many of them were scattered in gathering the crop ; as many,
I should think, as were sown. The oats are quite heavy, weigh-
ing thirty-four pounds per bushel. Crop, seventy-one bushels.
Straw weighed two and a half tons.

EXPENSE OF CROP.

Ploughing,

Seed, 4} bushels, at GO cents, ....
Sowing, 50 cents, harrowing, $!l.50.
Ten bushels of ashes, 80 cents, spreading, 20 cents,
Cutting, raking and binding, ....
Threshing and cleaning, .....
Interest on land, and taxes, ....

$28 00

$3 00

2 70

2 00

1 00

4 50

8 00

6 80

VALUE OF CROP.

Seventy-one bushels of oats, at 60 cents,
Two and a half tons of straw at $10,

Net profit, . . ■ .
Dover, October 15, 18G0.

$42 06
25 00

$67 60
$39 60

OATS. 165

rLYMOUTH,

Statement of Daniel Alden.

The land, one acre and fifty-nine rods, on wliich I raised my
oats, is a sandy loam ; it was in grass from 1854 to 1857 ;
planted to Indian corn in 1859, and was well manured with
about fifty-six cartloads of compost manure spread on, and
about one hundred and thirty bushels of leached ashes sowed
on tlie field. In 1860, April 12th, the land was ploughed with
a double Michiga'n plough, about seven inches deep ; on the IGth,
sowed the oats and cultivated them in ; then sowed grass seed,
and then harrowed the ground twice over, and rolled it.

August 3d. Cradled the oats, and on the 7th bound and
carted them into the barn ; on the first of September, threshed
and winnowed them with a machine. They measured one
hundred and eighteen and one-quarter bushels. About the
20th, I weighed them, the weight of which was 3,741^- pounds ;
equal to one hundred and sixteen bushels twenty-nine pounds.
The oats were entirely free from smut ; the seed sown was
Canada oats.

Sept. Sold 1^ tons of straw at $8 per ton,
Oct. 1^ ton " u u ^ ^

Straw not sold, .......

118| bushels oats, sold and unsold, 50 cts. per bush.,

184 12

I think there was a loss of oats in the field and in threshing,
of from three to five bushels.

EXPENSES OP SEED AND LABOR.

Apr. 12. To one day's ploughing, . . . . $3 00
16. cultivating, harrowing, and rolling, . . 2 25
4] bush. Canada oats, at 60 cts. per bush., 2 70
Aug. 3. cradling oats, . . . . . 1 25
7. raking, binding, and carting them in, . 2 00
Sept. threshing and winnowing them with ma-
chine, . . . . . . 6 00

Total expense, $17 20

112

00

8

00

5

00

59

12

lo6 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Statement of Charles G. Davis.

The oats which I entered for premium were raised upon
newly reclaimed swamp, this year laid down to grass. I
planted two and one-half bushels of Bedford oats, sown April
10th, upon land upon which the manure was first harrowed in
— harrowed and rolled the oats. The land comprised just an
acre, but taking out the ditches there was 41,250 feet only.

The oats were mowed and stacked — threshed with horse-
power on the 5th of October, and measured sixty-four bushels,
weighing thirty-four pounds to a measured bushel, which is
sixty-eight bushels lawful measure, thirty-two pounds to a
bushel. I lost at least four bushels by the hens, and probably
much more from mowing and making.

The cost of these oats I estimate as follows : —

Dr.
2\ bushels seed, ......

Half harrowing, rolling and sowing,

|- of 8 cords manure, at market value in Plymouth,

Mowing and making,

Carting and stacking, .....
Threshing, at 8 cents per bushel.

Cr.
68 bushels at 50 cents, ....
1 ton of straw, deducting cost of stowage.

Net profit,

Deduct interest and taxes, .

n 80

1

50

8

00

3

00

1

50

4

96

$20 76

$34 00
10 00

$44 00

•

.

$23 24
6 30

$16 94

BROOMCORN. 167

BROOM CO UN.

HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND HAMPDEN.

Statement of F. H. Williams, of Sunderland.

Agreeable to your secretary's request, I have measured the
ground and weighed the brush which grew upon the piece
I entered for your society's premium, and find the same
to contain one hundred and eighty-four rods. The brush
weighed, Dec. 11th, nine hundred and fourteen pounds. Tlie
ground has produced a crop of corn, or broomcorn, for several
years past. Ploughed the 1st day of May, and planted with
machine, three feet by two in the rows. Used compost in the
drills, hoed and cultivated three times. The seed got fully
ripe, and was harvested before frost.

Dr.

18 cartloads compost, ....

.

.

$18 00

Cultivating and harvesting.

.

.

14 00

Scraping 914 pounds at 50 cents per hundred,

.

.

4 57

Cleaning up seed,

•

•

1 75

$38 32

Cr.

914 pounds brush, at 6|- cents per pound.

$59 41

77^ bush, seed, 41 lbs. to bush., at Ic. per lb;.

31

70

$91 11

For use of land, . . . ." . . $52 79

Statement of Leivis Parsons, of Northampton.

The ground on which the broomcorn was raised which I
ofifcr for premium, measures one acre, and lies in that part of
the meadow called Middle Meadow Hill. The lot had been
mowed for three years. I ploughed it the last of April, five
inches deep, and planted it to broomcorn, by hand, about the
1st of May. I planted the hills about two and one-half feet
apart, each way. The only fertilizer used was hard wood

108 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

ashes, thirteen bushels per acre. It was well hoed four times ;
harvested the fore part of October. The yield of brush was
1,017 pounds, and about fifty bushels of seed.

ROOT CHOPS

ESSEX.

Report of the Commiltee.

The committee on root crops, report that there were four
entries for premiums, for their consideration, two of which were
for potatoes, and two for cabbages. The committee, on exami-
nation of the statements presented, found that they all failed to
conform to some of the most essential requirements of the
society. The rule is as follows : —

" Claimants for the premium on grain and root crops will be
required to have their land measured by a competent surveyor
the crops weighed, and the amount of the same certified by
some disinterested person." It seemed to the committee almost
absolutely necessary that the above rule should be complied
with by all the claimants for premiums, before they could judge
of the merits of the several claims.

In all the claims before us, there was only one, that of S. A.
Merrill, in which there was any certificate of the measurement
of the land ; in none of them was the weight of the crop given,
and in none of them was there any certificate of the amount of
the crop by some disinterested person.

The committee on root crops cannot, like most of the other
committees of the society, personally inspect the articles or
operations, upon which they are expected to recommend premi-
ums, but they must be governed by the evidence presented to
them in the statement which is made.

If the land is not measured, and a certificate of the same
appended, the committee must first of all decide who of the
claimants can guess the nearest on the measurement of land.
If the crop is not weighed, the committee cannot determine
who has the best crop, and the certificate of the some disinter-

ROOT CROPS. 169

ested person is necessary to avoid mistakes, as well as to put all
claimants upon as equal footing as possible.

In the claims presented lor our consideration for premiums,
the committee, for the reasons above stated, have decided to
recommend no award, but hope that the statements may be
published with the report. The committee think it proper to
state, for the benefit of the members of the society, that before
coming to a full decision on this question, they took counsel of
the Board of Trustees then in session, who seemed to be unani-
mously of the opinion, that the essential rules of the society
should be strictly complied with, by all claimants for premiums.

Eben S. Poor, Chairman.

Statement of Daniel O shorn.

Potatoes. — I offer for premium a piece of land in potatoes
measuring one acre. The field borders upon the milI-{)ond of
the " Danvers Iron Factory." It has been used for the cultiva-
tion of onions until the present year. It was ploughed and
planted early in the month of April. The manure used was
" Peruvian guano," in the drill, four-hundred pounds to the
acre. The variety of potatoes planted was "Jackson "Whites,"
cut very fine. We commenced digging the first of August.
"We harvested three hundred and twenty-two bushels by actual
measurement. All were marketable but fifteen bushels, which
were too small. "We have sold all but twelve bushels, which are
kept for seed. The price obtained was fifty cents per bushel in
the Lynn market. The guano cost twelve dollars in Salem.
Three days labor in hoeing.

It has been found by actual experiment upon land in this
locality, that " Peruvian guano " produces potatoes of a larger
and better quality than barn manure. A good method would
be to spread broadcast and plough in the dung, using the
"guano" in the hill or drill, being careful to have it well
mixed with the soil before planting.

South Danvers, October 24, 1860.

Statement of Lever ett Bradley.
Potatoes. — The crop of potatoes I offer for premium grew
upon a small part of the reclaimed meadow, which I have also
22

170 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

offered for premium, containing seven-eighths of an acre. The
depth of soil or muck was from four to ten feet. The product
was two hundred and seventy-two and a half bushels, including
all sizes. The kind of potatoes were Riley Reds, and St.
Helenas. The meadow was cleared in the spring of 1858,
and planted with potatoes in the same year, July 3d, producing
a good crop, but injured by early frosts, for table use, not
getting quite ripe. In 1859, I planted with potatoes, and
obtained a good crop, planting earlier than the year before.
This year I planted the latter part of May. I used no manure
during these three years, and formed the hills at the time of
planting, hoeing only once. If I should plant the same again,
or any similar piece of meadow, should not hoe after planting,
as I should perform both planting and hoeing at the same time.
I think it better for the crop of potatoes, as there are no weeds,
and the less the soil is worn, the better.

The potatoes were of good quality, free froui rot, although
the mildew or rust struck the vines, some three weeks before
any frost, probably causing a less crop than otherwise would
have been, had they not been affected by that fatal scourge.
The potatoes have been sold in Lawrence, by the barrel, at the
rate of sixty cents per bushel, and more are wanted at the same
price, but I cannot spare any more.

For further particulars, I refer you to the committee on
reclaimed meadows, or if it is necessary to give more minute
statements, please write me.

Methuen, November 3, 18 GO.

Statement of Robert Bookhouse, Jr.

Cabbages. — The crop of cabbages I present for premium, was
grown on three-fourths of an acre of land, that was broke up
last September ; the following spring it was manured with
between five and six cords of compost manure, a portion of
which was spread on and mixed with the soil with a cultivator
drawn by a pair of horses, and the remainder was applied in
the hill.

The seed was sown in a hot-bed, and the plants transplanted
in the field about the 12th of May.

1

ROOT CROPS.

171

The variety planted was Marblcliead drumlicad, otherwise
called the Stone Mason cabbage, which is the standard cabbage
in this section.

In the course of the season they were horse-hoed and hoed
three times. I commenced cutting for market the 7tli of
August ; the last was cut on September 25th ; every plant
headed except one.

The whole receipts for the crop amount to $199.85. The
most of the crop was sold on the ground at from five to eight
cents ; those sold in Boston brought eight and nine cents. The
expenses on the crop were as follows : —

5| cords manure at $5 per cord,

Work preparing the land and manure and planting.

Horse-hoeing and hoeing three times.

Carrying six loads to Boston, at -$3 a load.

Carrying three loads to Salem, at $1,

Seed, two ounces, ....

Crop, Dr. to, .

Credit by one-half value manure,

Crop, ....

Profit on crop,
Marhleiiead, November 1-t, 18G0.

.

$27 50

iting, .

8 00

. ,

11 00

,

18 00

. ,

3 00

•

25

•

$57 75

$13 75

199 85

$213 GO

. $155 85

Statement of S. A. Merrill.

Cabbages. — I have a piece of land, measuring about one and
a quarter acres, from which, in the summer of 1859, I cut
about one and a quarter tons of hay to the acre. In November
of that year I ploughed this land, and in the ensuing spring,
having Spread on about five cords of green barn manure, I
again ploughed, cross-ploughing, to the depth of four inches,
and harrowing well afterwards. I now set my hills for cabbages,
three feet apart, (my furrows being also three feet apart,) and
to each hill put one shovelful of compost, and covered this with
loam about one inch thick, and dropped my seed — planting to

172 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

the deptli of about half an inch. This was about the first week
in April. About the first of May, I hoed and thinned, leaving
two plants to a hill. On the second hoeing, left but one plant
to a hill. When the plants were young, I spread plaster of
Paris around and on them, to prevent the little black insects
from destroying them ; I did this once or twice a week for two
or three weeks.

From this land I have gathered five thousand five hundred
cabbages, averaging from twenty to twenty-five pounds'per head
without stumps. I have weighed several vilh stumps and leaves
and found them to average from forty to fifty pounds. I took
sixty of the last lot gathered, and had them weighed on J. L.
Dodge's scales, and found their aggregate net weight to be one
thousand eight hundred and ninety pounds.

In consequence of the great crop of cabbages this year, the
prices have been quite low. The average price that I obtained
for mine, was seven dollars per hundred. The first part of the
season, I sold some for ten dollars per hundred, but none
during any part of the season for less than six dollars per
hundred. I subjoin some of the most important statistics : —

Cost of marketing, . ' .
Nine cords of manure.
Hoeing and cultivating.
Rent of land, .
Preparing ground, .
One case of plaster of Paris,

Total receipts from sales at $7 per hundred.

Net, •• 8172 00

I also sowed seven thousand cabbages under glass, in March
last, of the variety known as "Yorkers." These I transplanted
in April into old ground, which had Ijccn planted the previous
year with potatoes. I placed my hills two feet apart one way,
and two and a half feet apart the other, and into each hill put
a shovelful of compost made up of barn manure, night-cart
manure and meadow mud, in equal parts, using about five

$110

00

54

00

22

50

12

50

12

50

1

50

$213

00

385

00

^OT CROPS.

173

cords to the acre. From this acre I got six thousand cabbages,
which I sold, between the 10th of June and the 1st of August,
at eight cents per head.

Salem, November 13, 18G0.

WORCESTER NORTH.

Slatement of Alonzo P. Goodridg-e*

Swedish Turnips. — The eighth-acre on which my ruta-bagas
grew is a sandy loam. The crop of 1858 was corn, with three
loads stable manure ; that of 1859 was corn, with three loads
stable manure. It was ploughed twice in May, about ten
inches deep ; manured with three loads spread and ploughed
in ; furrowed and sowed the first week in June, in drills two
and a half feet apart; hoed twice, and harvested November 7th.

Cost of ploughing, &c.,

.

. $0 75

manure,

.

4 00

seed and sowing.

.

50

cultivation, .

.

1 50

harvesting, ' .

• •

2 00

Total, .

. $8 75

Produce, when harveste

L 5,485 r

)Ounds roots.

Statement of W. G. Wyman.

Swedish Turnips. — The eighth-acre which produced my
Swedish turnips is a gravelly loam upon a loose subsoil. The
crop of 1858 was corn and beans, with five-eighths cord stable
manure and one bushel ashes ; that of 1859 was corn and
cabbages, with one-half cord of compost of stable manure and
muck, and a few pounds of bone and super-phosphate of lime.

* The statements concerning cultivated crops are made by the Secretary
from the returned forms sent to the several competitors. In all cases where
manure is estimated in loads, the loads are understood to contain thirty
bushels each. Tlie quantity of produce in all cases is ascertained by actual
weight of the whole merchantable crop, the weight being certified to under
oath. — Sec.

174 MASSACHUSETTS AGq§[:!ULTURE.

For tlie present crop one-half cord of compost of stable and hog
manure and muck was spread and ploughed in ; ploughing
once, April 30, about nine inches deep. It was crossed with a
horse hoe June 9, smoothed with a garden rake, and sowed
with a seed sower in drills about twenty inches apart, with
River's stubble Swedish turnip seed raised by myself; was culti-
vated once with a hand hoe and garden rake, and harvested
November 5th.

About seventy-five pounds super-phosphate of lime, Coe's
manufacture, was spread upon the drills after the seed came up.

Cost of ploughing and other preparation, . . . $1 00

manure and super-phosphate, . . . 4 50

seed and sowing, ...... 25

cultivation, ....... 50

Total, $6 25

The tops paid for harvesting.

Produce, G,200 pounds, equal to 103| bushels, or 826|
bushels per acre.

The machine with which tlie seed was sown did not distribute
it evenly, and many places where no seed came up were filled
by transplanting from others where it was too thick. That
transplanted did not do one-third as well as the other.

Statement of Alonzo P. Goodridge.
Sugar Beets, — The eighth-acre on which my beets grew is
a sandy loam. The crop of 1858 was gorn, that of 1859, sugar
beets, with three loads stable manure each year. For the
present crop, three loads of manure were spread and ploughed
in. It was ploughed twice in May, ten inches deep ; furrowed
and sowed in drills two feet apart the first week in June ; hoed
twice, and liarvested November 8th.

Cost of ploughing, etc., ......

manure, ......

seed and sowing, .....

cultivation, ......

harvesting, ......

Total, 88 75

Produce, 4,815 pounds of beets.

$0 75

4 00

50

1 50

2 00

ROOT CROPS. 175

Statement of Solon Carter.

Mangold Wcjrzel. — The eighth-acre which I cultivated
with mangold wurzel is a claj^ey loam. The crop of 1858 was
carrots, that of 1859, mangold wurzel, manured at the rate of
twenty loads per acre each year. It was ploughed the last of
April, and again just before sowing, two loads of manure hav-
ing been spread before the first ploughing, it was then furrowed
one way three and one-half feet apart, three loads of manure
applied to the furrow, and two furrows turned upon it ; the top
of the ridge raked ; a furrow made by drawing a hoe through
it, and one-half pound seed sown by hand. May 25tli. As soon
as the plants could be seen, I went through with a light harrow,
and when large enough to hoe I used tlie horse-hoe, following
with the hand-hoe ; tliis was repeated once, but the horse-hoe
was run through five times.

October 20, the roots were pulled and thrown into rows far
enough apart for a wagon to go between them, the tops cut off,
the roots laid in rows and then thrown into the wagon as one
would throw stove wood.

Cost of ploughing and other preparation, .

manure, ......

seed and sowing, .....

cultivation, ......

harvesting, ......

Total, $19 40

Produce, 6,720 pounds, equal to 26 tons and 1,760 pounds
per acre, or equal to 896 bushels per acre.

Tops not weighed, but think they were worth one-half the
cost of harvesting.

HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND HAMPDEN.

Statement of Henry S. Porter, of Hatfield.

Carrots. — The piece of land on which my carrots were grown
contains forty -one rods. It is a heavy loam mixed with clay.
I have used it for raising tobacco, for three or four years ; have
got more than twenty-five hundred pounds to the acre. I

$1 00

10

00

1

40

4

00

3

00

176

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

ploughed under five loads of manure from the barnyard about
the first of May ; about the 15tli of May I sowed the carrots in
drills eighteen inches apart. I mixed cabbage and radish seed
with them so that I could more easily trace the rows, in case
the carrots did not come well ; but I found when hoeing time
came, that I needed nothing of the kind, for the carrots came
lip very thick and healthy. I hoed them three times ; at the
second hoeing I thinned them out, leaving them less than two
inches apart. They grew vigorously until the last of July,
when they began to blast, and in a week or ten days the
tops were almost dead ; so I supposed I should have nothing.
About the last of August they began to revive and grew very
well until I dug them about the first of November. The
amount of carrots, 8,268 pounds. I have some very fine
radishes — I should think a good cartload. There were more
than two hundred good cabbages.

COST OF CROP.

Manure, five loads, ....
Ploughing and harrowing,
Sowing and seed, ....
Hoeing, three times, ....

Harvesting,

Rent of land and taxes, .

AMOUNT OF CROP.

!,268 lbs. of carrots, at •S>14 per ton,
200 cabbages,

Amount of crop above the cost.

17 50

1 00

1 50

4 00

5 00

3 50

$22 60

857 87

8 GO

!5'35 87

$43 37

HAMPDEN.

Statement of Dr. Loiig-.

Potatoes. — The acre of potatoes entered for premium has

been in grass for twenty years or so, to my knowledge, and, for

aught I know, has never been j)loughed, on account of surface

water renderins; it too wet most of the season. With the design

ROOT CROPS.

177

of iiuderdrainiiig, and rendering it permanently dry, it was
drained with open ditches early in the spring, and about the
middle of May thoroughly ploughed with double plough, ten
inches deep, thoroughly dressed and furrowed three feet apart,
and composted manure spread in the furrows continuously, five
cords to the acre. The potatoes, two varieties, St. Helena's
and Davis seedlings, one-fourth acre of the latter and three-
fourths of an acre of the former, were cut and plaster-mixed
(an indefinite quantity) and planted one foot apart. Seeded
at the rate of ten or twelve bushels to the acre. The potatoes
were hoed twice, and weeds cut or pulled the third time ;
iinleachcd ashes were applied after the first hoeing. The yield
was two hundred and twenty-six baskets, measured equally in
two baskets, the one weighing, basket out, sixty-nine pounds,
the other sixty-two pounds, average sixty-five and one-half
pounds, making two hundred and forty-six and two-thirds bush-
els. The vield of the two varieties was about the same.

By 246| bushels, at 50 cents.
To ploughing land, .

interest,

taxes, ....

seed, ....

planting,

hoeing,

digging,

Xet profit, .
HoLTOKE October, 1860.

$123 33

$3 00

4

20

75

5

00

3

00

6

00

6

00

$27 95

^O 61

Statement of Joseph A. Smith.

Carrots. — The carrots that I offer for a premium were grown
on one-fourth of an acre of land from which the previous year
a crop of parsnips was raised.

In preparing for the crop, the last week in April, the ground
was ploughed to the depth of ten inches. Upon the furrows
were spread two and a half cords of fine manure, and ploughed

23

178

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

under four inches deep. The variety used was the long orange,
sowed in drills sixteen inches apart, and thinned to eight inclies
in the drill. November 3d, I gathered one hundred and ninety-
seven bushels, weighing fifty pounds to the bushel, making

9,850 pounds, which at 38 cents a bushel, or $18 per

ton, $64 76

Value of tops, 2 00

Ploughing and fitting land.

$2 50

Seed and sowing, ....

1 50

Hoeing and weeding,

7 00

Harvesting, . . . . .

3 50

One-half manure expended,

5 00

Hauling and spreading the same,

1 00

Taxes and interest, ....

3 50

Profit,

West Springfield, November 5, 18G0.

mQ 70

$24 00

$42 76

Statement of H. E. Moseley.

Caerots. — The seventy rods of ground on which was grown
the crop of carrots which I offer for the society's premium this
year, was treated as follows : one-half of the lot has been
sowed to carrots three previous years ; the other half was sown
the second time this year. I ploughed in fourteen loads of
stable manure to the depth of twelve inches, and subsoiled to
the depth of seventeen or eighteen inches. The seed was sown
the 15th of May at the rate of three pounds to the acre. They
were sown in drills eighteen inches apart, and left very thick
in the drills, and consequently were rather small. They were
hoed three times.

RECEIPTS.

320 bushels carrots, 45 pounds per bushel,
14,400 pounds estimated at $14 per ton,
for which 4,200 pounds were sold, . $100 80

Tops were worth . . . . . 2 00

$102 80

ROOT CROPS.

179

EXPENSES.

14 cart loads manure, .
Ploughing and fitting,
75 pounds guano,
Hoeing and weeding, ,
Digging, .
Seed and sowing,

Net profit.

114 00

2

00

2

25

12

50

9

00

1

50

141 25
fiGl 55

The small size accounts for their not weighing up to the
standard. A bushel of large ones weighed fifty-two pounds.

Springfield, November 12, 1860.

Statement of S. D. Smith.

Sugar Beets. — This crop was raised on one-eighth of an acre
which is of a loamy nature, and under a medium state of culti-
vation. Tlie previous year's crops were potatoes followed by
turnips. The ground was prepared by having one coating of
manure spread on and ploughed under to the depth of seven
inches. I sowed about the 6th of May, in drills one foot apart.
These were thinned from four to six inches apart in the drill.
Harvested about the middle of October, and measured seventy-
three bushels, which weighed sixty pounds per bushel.

73 bushels, at 50 cents per bushel,

. $36 50

Tops,

50

mi 00

Ploughing land,

. 10 25

One-half manure expended.

2 00

Hoeing and thinning, ....

1 50

Havesting,

1 00

$4 75

Net profit, ....

$32 25

West Springfield, jSTovember 1, 1860.

180 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Statement of William Birnie.
Mangolds. — My crop of mangold wiirzel was grown on two
and a lialf acres of land, which in 1859 produced only two
thousand six hundred pounds of tobacco. The soil is a heavy
loam with blue clay subsoil. Thirteen cords of stable manure
were hauled on to the ground, spread evenly, and ploughed in
about seven inches deep from the 23d to the 26th of April. It
was again ploughed from the 4th to the Ttli of May crosswise
of the previous furrow, thus thoroughly mingling the manure
with the soil, and turning it up near the surface. After being
harrowed and rolled, the ground was marked out into drills
two feet apart, by a machine drawn by a horse, marking five
rows at once about two inches deep. Fifteen hundred pounds
of crushed bone, dissolved in sulphuric acid, and sixteen bush-
els of common salt were sown by hand into the drills. The
roller was again passed over the ground, partly filling the
drills, but leaving them sufficiently marked to be followed by
the sowing machine. The seed, the long red variety, six pounds
to the acre, was sown between the 8th and the 12th of May. As
soon as the plants were fairly up, from the 1st to 3d of June,
they were hoed the first time, and June 10th, cultivated tlior-
oughly with the horse hoe, followed by hand, and thinned by
drawing the hoe through the rows, leaving the plants in bunches
of three or four, and about eight inches apart, taking especial
care to fill all the vacancies, (occasioned by failure of seed or
otherwise,) by transplanting. This was done by taking up a
bunch of the surplus plants, and the earth surrounding them,
with the hoe, and placing them carefully in a hole previously
made, in the vacant place; and scarcely a plant thus treated
failed. The first week in July the horse hoe was again used,
jand followed by hand, thinning thoroughly to one plant in a
place, and leaving them from eight to twelve inches apart in a
row. On the 16th of July, the horse hoe was used tlioroughly?
which was the last cultivation the crop received, as tlie leaves
had now nearly covered the ground. All the vacancies that
now remained were filled with cabbage plants. On the 15th
of September we began to strip the outside leaves, and feed to
our milch cows. Eighteen two-horse wagon loads were taken
from the piece before harvesting, and twelve at the time of
harvesting. On the 9th of October we began to gather the crop

ROOT CROPS. 181

and finished on the 2-3d, having taken in seventy-six loads
of two thousand five hundred pounds each. We ascertained
the weight by sending an average load to the city scales, and
weighing it, and using the same wagon to haul in the whole,
and keeping each day a strict account of the number of loads
secured. The following is an accurate account of the labor
and fertilizers used : —

5 days of man and team, ploughing, &c., . $10 00
12 days' labor in May, . . . . 12 00

25 " " June, . . . . 25 OO"

11 " " August, . . . . 11 00

158 00

47 50

27|- days' harvesting in October, . . . $21 50
10 days, man and team, . . . . 20 00

13 cords stable manure at $6,

1,500 pounds vitriohzed bone, (home-made,) 18 75

IG bushels salt at 20 cts., . . . . 3 20

99 95

Total cost of labor and manure, . . . $205 45

The land produced seventy-six loads of mangold wurzel, two
thousand five hundred pounds per load, or ninety-five tons ;
eighteen loads of tops stripped before harvesting, twelve ditto
when harvesting, (thirty loads,) and four hundred heads of
cabbage, — making altogether the total value of the crop about
eight hundred dollars. Deduct cost of labor and manure as
above, two hundred and five dollars and forty-five cents ;
balance of profit, five hundred and ninety-four dollars and fifty-
five cents. Estimating the weight per bushel of the mangolds
harvested at sixty pounds, (which is the actual weight,) we
have three thousand one hundred and sixty-six bushels, and the
whole cost of labor and manure being two hundred and five
dollars, the crop has cost, when safely stored in the cellar,
about six and one-half cents per bushel. I estimate that
the improved condition of the land, after the crop is taken off,
will more than balance the interest on its cost for the year.

Springfield, November, 1860.

182 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Statement of Dr. Long.

Swedes. — The Swedish turnips entered for premium, grew
on one-fourth of an acre of land. The preceding crop was
cabbage. The land was ploughed twice, and manured in fur-
rows two feet apart, with compost manure at the rate of six or
seven cords per acre, and ridged by turning two furrows
together over the manure. The seed was sowed on the top of
the ridges, the last of June, and thinned out at each hoeing,
leaving the strongest; and best plants, ultimately standing six
inches apart in the rows. The yield is one hundred and fifty-
eight baskets, weighing 'sixty-nine pounds each, (basket out,)
making ten thousand nine hundred and two pounds.

158 baskets, at 33 cents, $50 14

Ploughing, twice.
One-half manure,
Interest on land.
Planting, .

Hoeing,

Harvesting,

$12 00

Net profit, $38 14

IIOLYOKE, November, 18G0.

Statement of S. D. Smith.

Turnips. — This crop was raised on land of a loamy nature,
containing forty-six rods. The previous crop was rye, which
was harvested about the middle of July. The stubble being
removed, a thin coating of manure was applied. The land was
ploughed with one horse, July 31st, and sowed to turnips, in
drills from twelve to fourteen inches apart. When up suffi-
ciently, were hoed and thinned to about three or four inches
apart in the drills. Finished harvesting October 31st.

IGO bushel, each 54 lbs., at 20 cents per bushel, . $32 00
Tops for feeding, worth, 2 00

$34 00

$1 00

3

00

1

50

1

50

3

00

2

00

ROOT CROPS. 183

Ploughing, 50 cents ; hoeing and thinning, $1, . $1 50
On'c-half manure expended, . . . . 2 50

Seed and sowing, 75 cts.; harvesting crop, $1.50, 2 25

$Q 25

Net profit, $27 75

West Springfield, November 1, 1860.

Statement of Joseph A. Smith.

Mixed Crops. — The land last year produced wheat and tur-
nips. This year, about the middle of April, it was ploughed
ten inches deep. Eight cords of compost manure was spread on
the ploughed surface. Early potatoes were planted soon after, in
rows four feet apart and one foot in the drill. A little super-
phosphate was sprinkled on the potatoes in each hill. In the
month of May they were hoed twice. In July one hundred
and seventeen bushels were dug and sold for one hundred and
thirty-five dollars and seventy-two cents. On the 29tli of May,
after finishing the potato hoeing, an early variety of corn was
planted with a machine between the rows of potatoes, in hills
twenty-two inches apart. Super-phosphate was used in each
corn hill. On the 11th of June, the corn was hoed and thinned
to three stalks in a hill. The corn was again hoed the last of
July. Nothing else was done till the last of October, when
one hundred bushels of ears of corn were husked. Two bush-
els of ears shelled one bushel and seven quarts of corn, worth
at least, with the stalks, fifty-seven dollars. After clearing out
the potatoes the last of July, one pound of English turnip seed
was sown among the corn and hoed. In the first week in
November seventy-eight bushels of merchantable turnips were
harvested, worth at twenty cents per bushel, fifteen dollars and
sixty cents. It will thus be seen that the three crops of pota-
toes, corn and turnips on one acre in the Connecticut River
Valley, this year, have yielded $208.32.

117 bushels early potatoes, .....

50 bushels corn, .......

corn stalks, .......

78 bushels turnips,

$208 3i

8135

72

50

00

7

00

15

60

184

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Ploughing land twice,

8 cords manure, .

Hauling and spreading do..

Plaster and super-phosphate,

Dropping same, .

10 potatoes bushels, early whites,

12 bushels stone hills.

Planting, ....

Hoeing, twice, .

Digging and marketing,

I bushel corn and planting.

Hoeing corn twice.

Ploughing and cultivating.

Cutting and stacking, .

Husking, (100 bushels, at 4 cents,)

1 pound turnip seed and sowing,

Pulling and topping turnips.

Interest and taxes,

Profit, ....
West Springfield, November, 1860.

83

00

24

00

3

00

8

00
50

•

10

00

G

00

2

00

7

00

8

00

1

50

4

00

1

00

2

00

4

00
60

2

00

13

00

899

CO

.

8108 72

PLYMOUTH.

Statement of Charles G. Davis.

Carrots. — My crop of carrots entered for premium I have
just stored, and on a quarter of an acre I have raised seven
thousand seven hundred and forty-eight pounds, (7,748,)
making at fifty-five pounds per bushel, one hundred and forty
bushels and forty-eight fifty-fifths fraction over, or at the rate
of five hundred and sixty-three bushels per acre. This, I am
aware, is less than the amount requisite for a premium. The
carrots were of the long orange variety, sown upon drained
land, ujK)n a declivity, which was ploughed from the sod two
years ago last December, and has been in corn the two summers
since. The land is peaty, with a clayish subsoil, but was
ploughed last year and this as much as fourteen inches deep.
It was dry enough for corn, but the past summer has been so
wet, that the carrots were not very long, though very large in
circumference.

ROOT CROPS. 185

A violent rain in May scattered the seeds wliich were planted
in drills, and I had little hope of the crop when you saw it
during the summer. The spaces I planted with Swedish turnips,
and again with the yellow stone round turnips ; and now after
the crop is removed, the field is green with the turnips. The
yield of the turnips will be such as to render the whole crop a
profitable and a very heavy one. I put the stable compost
manure in open drills, which were covered with the plough, and
have hoed three times. A sandy loam is often recommended
for carrots, and yet it is often stated that they do well in a
drained peat. There seems to be some confusion or inconsist-
ency about this, as one would think that which would do best
in one soil would not do as well upon the other.

Dr.
Ploughing, ........

One cord of manure, ......

Furrowing, manuring, and planting,

Hoeing, three times, and weeding — 1st time, $1.50 ;

2d and 3d, §1 each,

Harvesting, ........

Interest and taxes, .......

Cr.

By two and a quarter tons of carrots, at 810.50,

$6 77
I have since cropped 2,200 pounds of round turnips on the
lot above named.

Statement of Albert Thomas.

Carrots. — The land where I raised my carrots measured
forty rods. I ploughed in three cords of manure, harrowed
the grounds, and sowed the carrots the 2d day of June, in
rows two feet apart ; raised one hundred and seventy-four
bushels, weighing 0,570 pounds, or at the rate of six hundred
and ninety-six bushels per acre. Hoed them twice.

24

$0 75

4

00

1

50

3

50

4

00

3

10

$1G

85

123

62

$13

00

50

7

00

5

00

1

50

827

00

832

20

186 ^rASSACriUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Expense of manure and hauling,
seed and planting,
hoeing,
harvesting,
ploughing and harrowing,

174 bushels at 30 cents per bushel, .

Leaving the clear profit of .... . ^25 20

Statement of Charles G. Davis.

French Turnips. — As I entered for a premium upon French
turnips, I do not purpose to neglect making a statement of my
experience, even though I may not become entitled to the
premium.

The new law requires all field crops to be weighed, and I
have taken the precaution this year to weigh every thing
which comes into or goes out of the barn, from the horse, cow,
heifer or pig from month to month, to the hay, oats, and other
produce, and have already seen the good effects qf this plan in
the more accurate and systematic knowledge which is derived
from it. I have thus been led to believe that most farmers
estimate a much larger amount of product than they actually
pruduce, especially in hay and oats.

For instance, I supposed that I had a very good crop of
Swedes, with which I felt perfectly satisfied, but they weighed
as they went into the cellar, with roots trimmed, 10,265
pounds, which, at sixty pounds per bushel, gives one hundred
and seventy-one and five-sixths bushels, or at the rate of six
hundred and eighty-seven bushels per acre, hardly up to the
society's standard.

I make this statement because I desire to see how it will
compare with the statements of others who may have weighed,
as they are required to do, every turnip of the merchantable
crop.

The quarter-acre sowed was a part of a two-acre field,
ploughed and subsoiled last fall. It had been in grass for
more than twenty-five years, and how much longer I am unable

ROOT CROPS.

187

to discover. It was manured with a hundred pounds of
" Phuine," presented to me by my friend, Prof. Stevens, of
Girard College, and a sprinkling of sheep manure, harrowed
in. " Phuine " is a new, artificial manure, compounded and
manufactured by Prof. Stevens, a son of old Plymouth, whom
I can recommend as perfcctlly reliable and honest. I have
tried the article alone on corn and turnips, and have no doubt
of its value.

The land was sown in drills, two feet apart, with a seed sower,
about June 25th ; hoed once, and thinned from ten to fourteen
inches apart ; the crop was harvested this week, a fortnight
earlier than I would have preferred.
Cost of ploughing, . . . . . . . 80 75

manure, ....... 1 50

harrowing and planting, . . . . 1 00

hoeing, once, and pulling weeds, . . . 1 00
harvesting, ....... 4 00

Interest and taxes, . . . . . . . 3 20

By five tons of turnips, at $8 per ton,

111 45
$40 00

$28 65
November 9, 1860.

Statement of Albert Thomas.

The land where I raised French turnips measured forty rods.

Ploughed in three cords of manure — spread and harrowed iu

twenty-five bushels of ashes ; planted the 27th day of June,

in rows two feet apart, and hoed once, and raised two hundred

and eighteen bushels and forty-sixtieths, amounting, at thirty

cents per bushel, to ...... $65 25

Ploughing and harrowing.

Manure and carting.

Ashes,

Planting and seed,

Hoeing, .

Harvesting,

825 50

•$1 50

13

00

3

50

50

2

00

5

00

Clear profit,

$39 75

188 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

VALUE OF CROPS.

ESSEX.

Report of the Committee on Comparative Value of Crops as
Food for Cattle.

The com-mittee on the comparative value of the different
kinds of crops as feed for cattle, beg leave to make the following
report. Your committee would much rather have had some
subject to act upon that w^ould not have obliged them to make
a merely theoretical report, but as tliere was no claimant for
the premium in this case, we arc obliged to make such a report
or to make none at all, and therefore have concluded to throw
out a few thoughts that have occurred to us on this matter.
But few farmers are so situated as to be able to carry out a
very systematic course of feeding, so as to test the comparative
value of the various kinds of food they may have at command.
There are a great many things to be taken into consideration
in a trial of this kind, as, for instance, the age and condition of
the animal at the beginning of the trial, whether in gaining or
losing flesh ; the length of time the trial lasted ; if milch cows,
the quantity and quality of the milk should also be taken into
consideration, and not by any means should the amount of
labor necessary to lay in and feed out what is used be omitted.
None of your committee have ever made any very exact experi-
ments in this matter ; they are therefore obliged to rely upon
the statements of others which they have seen published.
Among these there is one which for apparent exactness, and
the high authority from which it comes, would seem to be very
satisfactory ; but the conclusion arrived at so completely upsets
the generally received opinions in regard to the value of many
kinds of feed in use among stock-keepers, that we cannot refrain
from adverting to it.

In this trial it is asserted that about twenty-four and one-
half pounds per day of English hay kept a milch cow in
present condition. Tliis would give 4,189 pounds of hay from
December 1st to May 20th, and at a cost of 815 per ton, would
make the expense of keeping a cow through the winter, $31.41.
This seems very satisfactory for a cow of 1,000 pounds, live

VALUE OF CROP.S. U9

weight, and is what intelligent farmers would, we think, call a
generous allowance. This feed was continued for the term of
fifteen days ; the same cow was then fed with the same quantity
of hay, and an addition of five pounds of shorts per day for
fifteen days more, and shows tlie very remarkable gain of
twenty-five and one-third pounds in that time, equal to one and
four-sixths pounds per day, or two hundred and ninety-eight
pounds from December 1st to May 20th. This increase of
weight is valued at four cents the pound, and all credited to
the shorts, making them worth $1.35 per hundred weight, or
$27 per ton. Now is this a fair trial of the value of shorts ?
Would the gain be in this proportion for any great length of
time, and if it would not, then must not the value of the shorts
be reduced in proportion to the falling off on the gain ? We
have seen, too, that the cost of keeping the cow in hay was at
the rate of 831.41 for the feeding season. Now 2,328 pounds of
shorts, at 81.35 per hundred weight, comes to '131.42, as the
cost of keeping a cow on shorts alone, supposing an animal
would live on shorts alone, and no other more bulky food be
necessary. This amount gives a fraction short of fourteen
pounds per day. Now if the animal will live on this amount
per day, give milk all the time, maintain herself in present
condition, then shorts are worth what is claimed ; and it shows
how much better for any one who buys feed, to buy them
instead of hay, as the saving of room, and also of labor, would
be of great account.

Now are these things so ? Will a cow in milk thus keep in
present condition for a period of one hundred and seventy-one
days ? Your committee can hardly think she will on this
amount of shorts, and therefore cannot believe that shorts are
worth §27 per ton, when English hay is worth §15 per ton.

Another trial from the same source also sets forth as remark-
able results as the other. In this case, meadow hay and corn
stover were substituted for English hay, and the loss as shown
by the statement is very remarkable, being at the rate of five
hundred and ninety-eight pounds for the feeding season. Now
can this be so ? Would the loss be so great for any length of
time on this feed ? The cow consumed twenty-one pounds of
hay and corn fodder, and five pounds of shorts per day, and
lost on this feed three and eleven-fifteenths pounds ])er day,

100 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

being al)out six hundred pounds for the feeding season of one
hundred and seventy-one days.

The loss is charged to the hay and stover, and the balance
struck accordingly, which left the value of the hay and stover
to be 83.83 per ton. No account is made of the five pounds of
shorts per day, which at $>1.35 per hundred weight, would be
-^11.54 for the feeding season, and showing that meadow hay
and corn stover are not worth the housing ; for were it not for
the shorts the cow must certainly have starved to death.

For the reasons above stated, we believe that an experiment
continued for so short a time cannot be satisfactory, and that
public opinion has set a value upon the various kinds of feed,
much nearer the truth than can be ascertained by a trial of a
few days' continuance. Your committee had intended to exam-
ine at greater length this report from which have been taken
the above statements, but it would extend our remarks more
than would be proper, and we will conclude by saying that in
our opinion, no kind of food can be substituted for English hay
to get the same amount of nutriment at the same cost, and that
while roots, shorts and meal may be fed in connection with the
various grasses with good results, yet to fix their precise value,
would require trials of greater length, and perhaps be more
expensive than most farmers would be willing to incur.

We believe that an animal fed on any one kind of food for a
few days, and then changed to another better or worse, will
show tlie true value of that food ; but in order to get at any
thing like the true value of the article used, animals as nearly
alike in age and condition as possible, should be selected and
fed, each on a particular kind of food, for a period of at least
three or four months.

And your committee also believe, that in order to get the
most advantage from the article used, that regularity in feed-
ing, both as regards time and quantity, should be strictly
observed. If the trustees wish to have this subject further
investigated, we think an excellent o])portunity presents itself
at the society's farm in Topsfield.

As no opportunity has occurred for a consultation among the
members of the committee, since the writing of this report, the
undersigned is chiefly responsible for what is said in it.,

John L. Uubbard, C/tairman.

NEAT CATTLE. 191

NEAT CAT T L E .

HAMPSHIRE.

Report on Neat Cattle.

Many of the societies in the State liad no exhibition of cattle
at their fairs this year, on account of the disease which had
prevailed in Worcester County, and of which some had died
elsewhere. It was no doubt in part owing to the fear which
some had of bringing their cattle in contact with other herds,
that made the exhibition in this department less than in former
years. The average quality was better, and the proportion of
blood animals much larger. The executive committee, with
the view of encouraging the raising of Thoroughbred stock,
gave the preference, in offering premiums, to such. We think
this is a step in the right direction, for, from our own observa-
tion, we have not been able to see much improvement in stock
at our fairs.

How few of our members are taking any decided steps
towards improving their herds by skilful breeding. The
farmer who raises a better animal than his neighbor is satisfied,
when he ought not to be, unless he has done the very best he
can, which will never be the case, except in very rare instances,
and that by accident, without the use of Thoroughbred bulls.
There are praiseworthy exceptions in some of the towns that
contribute to our fair.

Paoli Lathrop, of South Hadley, the prince of Short-horn
breeders in Massachusetts, has been in the business some
twenty-five years, and has obtained an enviable reputation
throughout the country. His brother, too, Wells Lathrop, is a
successful breeder, and has a choice herd of Short-horns.

The stock of South Hadley and Granby shows decided marks
of improvement from the influence of these herds. Li Hadley,
some of the farmers have recently commenced with the Short-
horns. A club own a fine Short-horn bull, and are raising
some choice grades. T. P. Huntington and Charles Smith
have two young cows from Mr. Lathrop's stock, and are raising
calves from them. William Newton keeps an Ayrshire bull.

In Sunderland, Nathaniel Smith has one of the same breed ;
and has some grade heifers. In Prescott and in New Salem,

192 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

are a considerable number of grade Devons — perhaps some
full-blood. Edmund Hobart, of Amherst, has a Short-horn
hull, and Horace Henderson, a Jersey, and several grade
heifers of his own raising, and thinks highly of them.

The writer commenced the foundation of an Ayrshire herd
six years ago, by importing some heifers from Scotland, and
from selections in the country, and has twenty head of Thorough-
breds and grades.

How is it that breeders in England and Scotland have
brought their herds to such perfection, except as above indi-
cated, and that only by long practice, careful observation and
experience. The North Devon, which has been bred for
centuries, is sure of producing its like ; so the Hereford and
Durhams or Short-horns, though not bred so long, have
assumed a fixed type and character, and each has adapted itself
to its locality. They breed for beef, for work, for the dairy,
and to some extent for all purposes united.

In order to the highest success, we should have a definite
aim. Let the young man, in stocking his farm, begin, if it is
all he is able to do, with the best native cows he can select, and
with a Thoroughbred bull of the breed he may think best
adapted to his farm, and the object he has in view — beef, milk,
butter or cheese, and continue to use none but well-bred bulls,
and he cannot fail to find his account in it ; he will for outstrip
his neighbor who pursues the old beaten path, he will get up a
better herd for his own farm, and find a market for all his
surplus animals, at remunerating prices.

I do not propose to speak at length of the ditTerent breeds ;
each of them has its advocates. Short-horns, it is generally
admitted, mature earlier, and attain to a larger size than any
other breed, and, consequently, are well adapted for beef; but
in rare cases do they excel for work or milk in proportion to
their size ; a cross is better for either. The Herefords are rare
in this vicinity, even if any are found of pure blood ; they are
comely, thrifty, good workers, good for beef, but indifferent
milkers. Nothing can exceed the beauty of form and color of
the North Devon — they are sprightly, and hardy for work, good
beef animals, and by some it is claimed that they are good dairy
stock. There is a great dififerencc in families of them in this
respect, owing, no doubt, to a long course of breeding for this

NEAT CATTLE. 193

purpose. Grades would make a profital^le stock for a farm.
The Jersey cow, (for we never hear of Jersey oxen,) gives the
richest milk, but the quantity is small — tlie breed can never
come into general use. The Ayrshires have been bred to some
extent, in the eastern and central parts of the State, l)ut there
are few in this section. They promise well for the dairy, for
which tliey have been specially bred in Scotland for a consider-
able time. Their character has become fixed. It is supposed
to be a cross of Durham upon the cattle of the Ayrshire district,
and has adapted itself in size to the hilly pastures of its locality.

They are almost uniformly good for milk, — hardy, thrifty,
lively, intelligent, easily kept, and large enough for a cow.
They fatten easily, make good beef, and, though they may not
attain to the size of some breeds, we see no reason why they are
not adapted for the entire stock of a farm.

In accordance with the statement of Dr. Loring in his
address, that where he found superior stock in several places,
upon inquiry it was ascertained that it had descended from
Thoroughbred animals, I may venture to mention, that, being
desirous of knowing what had been the result of an importation,
of Ayrshire stock, by the " Massachusetts Society for the Pro-
motion of Agriculture " in the State, and of their efforts to
introduce the breed, by allowing the county societies the use of
their bulls, I found that some of the best cows in three or four
of the towns in this vicinity descended from that stock, and
that in Berkshire, Hampden, and Worcester, the facts were the
same. But for want of care, breeding down instead of up, the
blood is running out. " Blood ivili tcliy

It is vital to our interests, to choose a breed and raise stock
with reference to our circumstances and market. With the high
price of land, and dense population of Massachusetts, we can do
better than make beef. The West is to do that on cheap pastures
and cheap grain. Our oxen, when done with for work, our cows,
when too old to be profitable for milk, and a few surplus young
cattle, we turn over to the butcher to supply the home market.

Milk, butter and cheese, and veal are much more profitable.
To dairy farming we shall more and more turn our attention,
and to this end we should select and breed our stock.

L. SwEETSER, Reporter^

25

194 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

NORFOLK,

Report of the Committee on Cattle.

The committee appointed to examine and report on tlie
cattle exhibited at the show of the society for 1860, submit the
following : —

The alarming prevalence of the disease called plenro-pneu-
monia among the cattle of a portion of the State, during the
past winter and spring, induced the Board of Agriculture to
recommend to the county societies, the omission from their lists
for the year, of the customary premiums on this class of stock.
The recommendation was undoubtedly a proper one, under the
circumstances which prompted it, although the sequel has
shown that in some sections of the State, the gatherings of
cattle at the annual shows would not, probably, have been
attended with any ill consequences. This society acquiesced,
as did others in the eastern division of the State, in the recom-
mendation alluded to ; but as, previous to the time of the
show, it seemed evident that no harm would result from cattle
being collected on that occasion, the trustees deemed it proper
to solicit, without offering pecuniary inducements, an exhibi-
tion of some stock which it was known would be examiiied by
the public with satisfaction. We are happy to say that the
invitation was so fully responded to, as to add greatly to the
character and interest of the general exhibition.

Most prominent among the cattle brought to our notice, were
those of the Kerry breed — one bull and seven heifers — imported
by Arthur W. Austin, of West Roxbury, from the county of
•Kerry, Ireland. They are probably the first genuine specimens
of the breed ever exhibited in this country, and many persons
regarded them with curious eyes. In consequence of the loss
of the bull first imported by Mr. Austin, he obtained another,
" Mountaineer," which, with two heifers, arrived in July last.
The five heifers of the previous importation are believed to be
now in calf by this bull, and are expected to come to milk in
April next. They have gained remarkably since their arrival,
— averaging an increase in girth of nearly an inch a month for
the first year. Their indications for dairy purposes are all that
could be expected from the high reputation of the breed.
The bull is beautifully shaped — the forehead broad, the eyes

NEAT CATTLE. 195

large and full, the muzzle open, the upper and lower lines of
the body almost entirely straight — while his thick, furry coat
and elastic hide, indicate at once an ability to endure a
severe climate and to thrive rapidly.

It is not necessary that a particular description of this breed
should be attempted in this connection, as that was done pretty
full^^ in the Transactions of last year by the chairman of this
committee, by whom the animals of Mr. Austin's first importation,
were selected in their native country. To correct an error,
however, which seems to prevail in regard to the Kerry breed,
it may be stated that in the lower sections of the county of
that name, the Long-horned cattle are kept, from which some
people seem to have obtained the idea that they are the real
Kerries. It may be observed that there were two original
breeds in Ireland — one of which, occupying the more fertile
and level portions, corresponded in general character to the
Long-horns of England ; the other, occupying the mountainous
districts, of smaller size, of darker color, being generally black
— with upright instead of drooping horns, like the cattle of the
low country. Both breeds were always considered good for
the dairy. Of late years, owing to changes in the occupancy
of the land and the mode of farming, the modern, beef-making
Short-horns have been extensively introduced from England,
but their intrusion is regarded with little favor by the small
farmers and cottagers, with whom butter-making is an im-
portant object. As an illustration of the light in which some
of this class view the change alluded to, we may refer to
*' A Lament for the Old Irish Cow, by Kitty Conner," lately
published in the Belfast (Ireland) " Whig," and inscribed to the
members of the North-East Agricultural Society. Kitty begins
by saying —

I had a cow — my Diimindhu —

When Pat and I were joined together ;
And I may say that for a day

She scarce was ever off tl>c tether.
Oeh ! wirrastru ! my Drimindhu,
Yonr jrlossy coat all did admire ;
My shining sloe, your like I know
Will never stand in shed or byre.

But " Pat," she says, sold her " Drimindhu," and purchased
a Short-horn. The results of the enterprise are showu in the
following verse : —

196 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

And when the Short-lioi-n calved in ^lay,

Of" corn and " cake " she got a skinl'ul —
But may I never sin, if she
Gave at milking half a tinfnl.

Och I ■\virrastru ! my Drimindliu !
You needed neither " cake " nor corn —
On just dry hay three times a day,
You gave a canful night and morn.

Kitty is greatly mortified, as the neighbors passing ask — " Ts
there no more churnin' ? " and her thoughts turn to her Drim-
indhu, who, with only " a taste of hay three times a day," gave
" galore of butter." Pat tries to pacify her by giving the aris
tocratic pedigree of the Short-horn : —

Says Pat to me, " Och, gramachree.

Her ' pedigree ' shows dukes in dozens;
' The Royal Dane,' and ' Lady Jane,'

And ' The Sultan,' too, are all her cousins."
Och ! wirrastru ! my Drimindliu !
Such nonsense puts me past my patience ;
]\Iy darlin' cow, 1 miss you now.
Although you had no grand relations.

My curse upon them, night and day,

And may their grief be great as mine is,
That first brought o'er to Erin's shore

Those Short-horn cows and Cochin-Chinas.
Och ! wirrastru ! my Drimindliu !
From shady Barrow's banks 1 brought her;
And oft I dream of that fair stream,
And her eyes, placid as its water.

Mr. Austin exhibited with the Kerries a heifer bred in the
island of Unst, the nortliernmost of the Shetland group. She
was brought over with the first importation of Kerries — is of a
silver-dun color with a coat of hair resembling soft wool. She
makes an interesting contrast with the Kerries, differing from
them strikingly, both in color and shape, being deeper in tlie
fore-quarter and ilatter in the rib than they. She has
become excessively fat on grass, and her flesh is laid very
evenly over the body. This heifer is in calf to the Kerry bull.
Mountaineer.

We should not omit to mention that Mr. Austin exhibited
also a fine cow, which is a cross of the Jersey and Ayrshire,
and a heifer two years and three months old, from this cow, by
a Jersey bull, with her calf. They are very fine animals. The
heifer is unusually promising for the dairy — giving, at the time
of the exhibition, as stated, fifteen quarts of milk a day.

NEAT CATTLE. 197

E. R. Andrews, of West Roxbuiy, exhibited the fine Ayrshire
bull Albert, imported by the Massachusetts Society for Promot-
ing Agriculture, in 1858. He is a beautiful aniniiil — one of
the best of the kind, in every respect, that has ever been
brought to this country, — and it is to be hoped that our farmers
will improve the opportunity afforded of crossing some of their
best cows with so excellent a representative of this valuable
dairy breed.

Several of the progeny of the so-called " Jamestown bull "
were exhibited. This animal was by a Jersey bull out of the
celebrated "Jamestown cow" brought from Ireland in the ship
Jamestown, and for several years owned by John 1). Bates, of
Swampscott, by whom the bull in question was bred. The
leading characteristics of this cow corresponded to those of the
Suffolk breed. The bull was kept in Dediiam several years,
and many heifers of his get were reared, some of which have
come to milk. They generally give promise of superior milk-
ing properties. Specimens of this stock were exhibited on this
occasion as follows : —

Heifers. — William Whiting, one ; J. P. Maynard, o]ie ; John
Cawley, two ; Eben Wight, one ; Francis Marsh, three ; Elipha-
let Stone, one ; Thomas Barrows, one ; Francis Alden, three ;
John Conners, one ; M. P. Sumner, one ; Ileiiry Cormerais,
two; B. M. Farrington, three; William Fales one.

Bulls. — John Cawley, one ; William Fales, one ; Jesse Far-
rington, one. All the exhibitors of this stock reside in Dedham.

Among the animals above named which deserve special
notice, are the two heifers of Henry Cormerais. Their appear-
ance indicates much of the Jersey blood ; they would be taken
as extra specimens' of the half-bloods of that breed. This
appearance is partly accounted for by the fact that their dams
were grade Jerseys, which, with the one-half of that blood in
the sire, has given the strong impress alluded to in the progeny.
These heifers are not only very handsome, but their points give
them a high rank for dairy purposes. The heifers of E. Stone
and Wm. Wiiiting are of good size, thrifty, and in every respect
promising. One of John Cawley's heifers is thrcc-fourtlis of
the blood of the Jamestown bull, that is, both slie and her dam
were got by him. She is rather small — which may be owing
to poor keeping — but her points would place her high in the

198 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

scale of merit. The yearling of Francis Alden, and the two-
year-old of William Fales, are commended. Luther Eaton, of
Dedliam, exhibited a two-year-old heifer which had reared a
calf. She appeared to be a good milker. The committee were
not advised as to her blood.

Of the bulls of the Jamestown stock, there were none on
which the committee could bestow very high praise. That of
Jesse Farrington had clean limbs, a fine tail, and tolerably
elastic, but too thin skin, which, however, was of a good,
yellow color ; but he was too narrow across the loins, and had
too much laxness of frame and tissue to possess the requisite
constitution. And here we may remark, that there appears to
be a tendency in the so-called Jamestown stock to run into
coarseness of frame, with a want of tliat degree of firmness in
the system necessary to give strength and hardihood, — qualities
so important to the stability of a breed and its ultimate profit.
If the stock is to be perpetuated to advantage, it will be neces-
sary to select those which are as free as possible from tlie defects
mentioned, both in regard to themselves and their ancestors.

Most of the Jamestown stock exhibited, was, like the sire,
without horns. Mr. Cormerais' heifers and one or two others,
had good horns.

Sanford Howard, Chairman.

HORSES.

WORCESTER NORTH.

From the Report of the Committee.

We would congratulate the society u])on the increased inter-
est in the horse, as shown by the exhibition to-day, of specimens
of unusual excellence, of the class submitted to this committee.
Having no place on which to show to any advantage the move-
ment and speed of this noble and beautiful animal, we were
obliged to content ourselves as well as we could, by examining
his points, and witnessing his motion as he went around such a
space as we were able for a short time to command.

HORSES. 199

The business horse, that is, the horse wliich is best, on the
whole, for all kinds of work, most in demand by the great
majority of our people, and of course the one for which
premiums are offered by this society, should possess a good
share of the following points and characteristics, the more the
better, viz. : he should be compact, to insure endurance and
hardiness of constitution. Youatt says, " as much strength as
possible in a little space." Legs short ; fore-legs and hind-legs
about equal in length ; the withers sharp, thin, and a trifle
higher than the hips ; the fore-legs well spread at the chest, to
give room for the development of the vital organs, perpendicu-
lar and straight, knees wide and flat, clean and compact, from
knee to fetlock short, free from meat, the back cords large,
standing out well from the bone ; viewed from the front, the
legs should be thin, from the side, wide and sinewy ; the fetlock
rather wide, and thicker in front than behind ; pasterns short,
neither upright nor very sloping. Mr. Hinds, quoted by Lins-
ley, says, " horses having long and sloping pasterns soon tire."
The hoof should be nearly round, open, at the heel, smooth
and hard. The shoulders long and oblique, thin and flat at
the withers ; hips long and wide ; croup a little sloping ; the
quarters full ; wide at the stifle ; the muscles of the thigh
plump and full well down to the hock. The hock should be
wide, short, free from lumps, the point long. Below the hock
the legs should descend perpendicularly, the hocks no nearer
together than the fetlocks. Neck should be of moderate
length, tapering towards the head, slightly crowning ; on such
shaped necks the head is almost always well placed. The head
should be small, lean and tapering rapidly from the jowls to
the muzzle ; the forehead should be long and broad, muzzle
thin, lips small and firm, nostrils large and prominent. The
eyes wide apart, large and prominent, with a pleasant expres-
sion, the lids well open when at rest ; thejcontrary denotes dull-
ness. Ears small, thin, tapering and upright, set well apart.
The back short, broad and uearly straight, body deep at
the shoulder, the barrel round, back and hips well joined,
having no depression just forward of the hips, loins wide and
muscular, well ribbed up. The tail should be full, heavy, and
carried well up. He should be between fourteen and a half
and fifteen and a half hands high, rather under than over,

200 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

and wci;ili aUout ten Imiidred and fifty pounds. Such is the
description, mainly from Linslcy, of a horse which we should
expect to combine the qualities most to be desired in a horse
for "all work," and this is nearly the description of a good
Morgan.

Though form and characteristics are of primary importance,
blood should never be neglected. The farther back the pedi-
gree of both parents can be traced through good specimens, the
greater the probability that the expectations of the breeder will
not be disappointed. It is now iu proof, says J. S. Skinner,
" that this Moigan breed is descended from a horse that was
stolen from Gen. De Lanccy, importer of Wildair, and there is
every jeason to believe that though he may not have been
Thoroughbred, he is Avell steeped in the best blood of the
Anglo-American turf horse."

That " like will beget like" is commonly admitted to be true,
but if the male and female parents are very unlike each other,
the offspring would probably be unlike either. It is admitted
that the chances that the good, and the danger that the bad
qualities of an ancestor, will be inherited by any descendant,
will depend upon the number of degrees he is removed from
that ancestor, unless his ancestors of the opposite sex have
exhibited the same qualities. When the ancestors upon both
sides for several generations have been alike in all their
important features, then " like will beget like," though there
will still be a great variety in the degrees of excellence, even
then. Prof Cline, of London, as quoted by Skinner, says:
" When the male is much larger than the female parent, the
offspring is generally of an imperfect form. The proper method
of improving the form of animals consists in selecting a well-
formed female, proportionably larger than the male. The
improvement depends upon this principle ; that the power of the
female to suj)|)ly her offspring with nourishment, is in propor-
tion to her size, and to the power of nourishing herself from
the excellence of her own constitution. The size of the foetus
is generally in proportion to that of the male })arcnt, and there-
fore when the female j)arent is disproportionately small, the
quantity of nourisinnent is deficient, and her offspring has all
the disi)roj)ortions of a starveling. But when a female, from
her size and good constitution, is more than adequate to the

HORSES. 201

nourislimcnt of the fcctus of a male smaller than herself, the
growth must be proportionably greater. • The large female has
also a greater quantity of milk, and her offspring is more abun-
dantly supplied with nourishment after birth."

Youatt says: " It may, perhaps, be justly affirmed, that there
is more difficulty in selectiiig a good mare to breed from than a
good horse. Her carcass should be long, in order to give room
for the growth of the foetus ; and yet with this there should be
compactness of form and shortness of leg."

Linsley, in his prize essay, says : " The stallion should be
selected partly with reference to the form and characteristics
of the mare, and he should possess in a high degree those
qualities in which the mare is most deficient. In all cases he
should be compact and possessed of a vigorous constitution,
have a bold, resolute style of action, high spirit, and a great
deal of that nervous or vital energy which gives life to the
whole."

Again Linsley says : " All experience shows that the horse
of medium size is far the most capable of performing great feats
upon either the turf or road in carrying weight at lon^ dis-
tances. The Arabian, universally admitted, to possess aston-
ishing powers of endurance under light weight at high speed,
is rarely fifteen hands high. Of those horses that have distin-
guished themselves as trotters, a very large majority of them
have been under fifteen and a half hands high. ' Fanny
Jenks,' who trotted one hundred miles in nine hours, forty-two
minutes, was only fourteen and one-half hands high, and
weighed only nine hundred and thirty-five pounds. Tom
Thumb, who performed one hundred miles upon Sunbury
xjommon, England, in ten hours, seven minutes, in February,
1829, was only fourteen and one-half hands high, and his driver
and sulky weighed two hundred and fifty pounds ; and we think
more instances can be adduced of great feats at long distances,
performed by horses under fifteen than over sixteen hands
high."

The great improvement of the breeds of horses in England,
which took place many years ago, is said to have arisen
from crossing with those diminutive stallions, the P>arbs and
Arabians.

26

202 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

AVe believe it to be a fixed law of animal life, that in
medium size shall be found the greatest activity, the best
constitutions, the greatest power of endurance, and the most
courage and vital energy.

T. R. BouTELLE, Chairman.

NORFOLK.

From the B.eport of the Committee.

The committee on horses respectfully report that the exhibi-
tion and performance of the horses at the society's fair tliis
autumn, formed one of its most interesting and attractive
features.

In a county abounding in pastures, as the county of Norfolk
does, it is remarkable that so little attention is given to the
breeding of horses. There is always a good demand for, and a
good horse will command a reasonable, and often an unreason-
able, price. We have fine horses in the county, but compara-
tively few are raised in it. We are by no means disposed to
encourage mere speed ; there are other qualities that make the
animal more valuable for the ordinary purposes of business.
A good horse is not one that will merely go in 2.40 or three
minutes, but one that will safely and cheerfully perform his
ordinary Avork or journey in fair time, and, perhaps, having
latent qualities, will be capable, upon emergency, of exhibiting
endurance and any reasonable speed when more than ordinary
is required. All who can afford to keep a horse would prefer
to have a good one — one that will not fret himself or driver,
and yet, with all the multitude raised in other States for the
general market, we are not perfectly certain of finding what we
want. Such is the general business of a New Englander, that
the division of labor established in England, where there is a
distinct class of horse for every distinct occupation, Avill never
probably obtain here. What is commonly wanted in this
region, is a compact horse of about a thousand pounds weight,
Avith not a superfluous hair about him. We see no reason why
the number raised in this locality might not be greatly
increased, and, with due care, the quality much improved.
Taking into consideration all the chances and risks attending
the rearing of colts, we do not wish to convey the impression

HORSES. 203

that a profitable return will always be made to tlic breeder ;
but we conceive that those wlio are fond of the horse, and liavc
opportunity, might be willing to run some moderate risk, in
the attempt to raise a satisfactory animal.

Tlie great difficulty in producing what is desirable, lies iti
the uncertainty of the animal from which you undertake to
breed. To obtain a good product, you must have a good sire
and a good dam. Without these, all your care and labor will,
probably, be in vain. It is, therefore, j)roper to know, not only
the antecedents of the animals from which you intend breeding,
but to know as much as possible of the antecedents of tlieir
ancestors. Qualities, mental and physical, good and bad, and
even habits, we have reason to know, are transmissible from
generation to generation. It is not policy to breed from any
dam that has a physical defect. The famous English horse,
Eclipse, had a natural mark of a dark color on his q uarter
which mark, though not a defect, was noticed in his progeny in
the fifth and sixth generation. If such a casual mark as that
would be transmitted for such a length of time, it certainly is
of consequence that there should be no time and expense
thrown away upon those animals which have obvious defects,
mental or physical.

The dam should be capacious, of good disposition, good con-
stitution, and good habits. It may safely be asserted that no
really good man ever came from a bad mother, and we should
vainly expect a good and serviceable colt, from sire or dam,
who had vicious habits, vicious propensities, or physical defects.
Both sire and dam, then, should possess intelligence, good-
nature, good constitution, and good habits. The sire should
be spirited, — a quality not inconsistent with good disposition,
though many spirited horses have strong tempers, — a fault that
undoubtedly may be attributed, in many instances, to defective
education ; but however good in other respects, however sym-
metrical or gifted with physical beauty, we would caution
against the use of any sire that had vicious qualities or habits.
An irritable horse, with a disposition to be kicking, or biting, or
crowding in the stall, is a brute not entitled to the care and
companionship of man, and no one has a right to offer sucli for
the use of the public, no matter how beautiful his form, or
satisfactory his pedigree.

204 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

The Morgan, or Yermoiit horse, answers our working, farm-
ing, or general purposes, better than any other that has appeared
in New England ; if it have a dash of the Messenger blood, or
of the Thoroughbred again infused, it might, probably, be some-
what improved now ; but, taking it as it is, those who have the
stock in perfection will hardly look for a better.

In concluding these brief suggestions, we would recommend
that measures be taken by the society to have at its dis-
posal such a horse for the use of the county as will help to
improve our stock of horses generally, being convinced that it
would be a salutary measure, encouraging our farmers to
devote more attention to keeping up the breed of tliat animal,
ujton whose good qualities so much of pleasure, convenience,
and comfort depend.

Arthur W. Austin, Chairman.

SHEEP.

ESSEX.

Report of the Committee.

xit the present time we cannot find sheep enough in tlie
county about which to make an interesting report, and if we
write, it must be about what has been, or what ought to be in
it. Fifty years ago nearly every farmer's family spun their
own yarn, and made the cloth for their own wear ; and while
this state of things existed, it was natural for each one to raise
their own wool. But the erection of factories, and the im-
proved method of making cloth, have stopped the sound of the
spinning-wheel and the loom in our kitchens, and driven the
sheep from our pastures.

The idea has been prevalent, that if we did not want the
wool for our own families, it was more profitable to keep cows
than sheep. The merino sheep fever, which raged with such
violence in this county from 1812 to 181G, had an influence in
causing many farmers to give up their sheep. The interrup-
tion of commerce at that time, by the war with England,
caused the price of fine wool to rise ; many sold tiieir coarse-

SHEEP. 205

woolled sheep, and entered into the merino speculation, with the
belief that they would soon make an ample fortune by it ; but
the diseases which many of them contracted on the voyage from
Europe to this country, and the larger number that were kept
together, caused many of them to die, and the public soon came
to the conclusion that they were not adapted to our climate ;
and those sheep which but a short time previous had been
bought at one thousand or fourteen hundred dollars per head,
either died or were sold for a trifle.

Hon. William Jarvis, of Weathersfield, Vermont, when he
was American Consul at Lisbon, sent home large flocks in 1809,
1810 and 1811. When it was established, by actual experi-
ment, that their wool did not deteriorate, they again rose in
favor, and it was soon found that they could be easily acclimated
here. At this time the Essex Merino Sheep Company was
formed, and imported largely, and rented farms in various
parts of the county and placed them under the care of shep-
herds from Spain ; but, unfortunately, they brought with them
the foot-rot and the scab ; and the ignorance of some of their
agents, and the dishonesty of others, soon involved the com-
pany, and it was not long before they lost most of their flocks
and all of their capital stock.

The prostration of our woollen manufactures, which took
place soon after the restoration of peace with England, rendered
the merino of little value, and many who had invested largely,
in them were ruined.

Although various other causes may have operated to lessen
the number of sheep kept in the county, the more important
inquiry now is, whether it is the part of good husbandry for
the farmers of this county to keep sheep ? One fact meets us
at the outset of this inquiry, which is, as the sheep have
decreased, our pastures have deteriorated. How far this has
been owing to devoting them exclusively to dairy purposes, it
may not be easy to determine, but we know that it is one of
the inevitable results, that if we continue to take from the soil,
year after year, the same ingredients, without in some way
restoring them, we shall sooner or later exhaust it.

Whatever may have been the cause, we know that our pas-
tures are covered with moss, bushes and briars ; and the walls
thereof, if not broken down, are so settled and crooked, that

200 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

they make but a poor fence for cither cattle or slieep. Can we
by the aid of sheep, reclaim our pastures without costing more
than they are worth ? Hitherto the first objection to trying it
has been the dogs : now we have the dog law to protect us, so
far as it goes, and if they are killed, we call upon the town for
pay; but timidity is one of the strong characteristics of the
ovine race, and the constant yelping of the worthless curs about
our streets and pastures keeps them so frightened that they will
not thrive. We have been told by those who have been called
upon to enforce the dog law, that they are met by tlie question —
Who keeps sheep ? Why enforce the law when there are no
sheep for the dogs to kill ? If the farmers kept more sheep, it
would obviate this objection. It might be well for tliis society
to take some action that would cause the dog law to be better
enforced by the town authorities.

The next objection is the want of suitable fences. It is some-
times said in answer to this objection, tliat if land is not worth
fencing, it is not worth owning and paying the taxes upon. But
the old walls now answer as division, and the cows seeing noth-
ing better on the other side, think it will not pay to crawl over ;
but sheep have a strong propensity to explore the next enclo-
sure. This trait is more fully developed in what is called the
native or Yankee sheep, than in those that have been imported
recently. How far this is an hereditary trait, or the result of
.education; we will not decide. This disposition to ramble has
caused many hard feelings between neighbors, and we would
not advise any one to keep sheep to reclaim a pasture without
first making a suitable fence. A rail or board fence four feet
high, or a pole placed upon stone wall Mnll make a safe enclo-
sure. ]\Ir. Page, of South Danvers, uses netted wire upon the
top of his wall. We have seen upon Mr. Pierce's farm in Tops-
field, small posts placed by the side of the wall about twenty-
five feet apart, set leaning so that a wire fastened to it will be
over the wall about six inches above it, then another wire
placed about ten inches above that. This is cheap, and we
should think a durable fence.

Another objection to keeping sheep, is that they are wild and
apt to stray away. Many of the old breeds of sheep seem to
have retained a large portion of the promise given to Noah
when he came out of the ark : " And the fear of you and the

SHEEP. 207

dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth." By good
keeping and kind usage, this dread has been overcome in many
of the imported breeds, and they are docile and easily managed.

Some say that they do not want the care of sheep and a dairy
both. Are we not at this time suffering in this county from
this feeling ? If we had continued more in the mixed hus-
bandry practiced fifty years ago, who doubts that our pastures
would have been better than they are now ? It is well for the
mechanic and the manufacturer to concentrate all their powers
upon one object, but the producer must not rely exclusively
upon one article. We had a strong illustration of the evil of
this in Ireland, when the potato rot came ; and the onion maggot
and the cattle disease are teaching us that mixed husbandry
is the safest.

Are sheep profitable ? We will give a few facts which have
recently come under our own observation. A neighbor of the
chairman bought, last December, eight sheep, for two dollars
and fifty cents each. They were wintered upon poor hay and
turnips. In July he sold eight lambs for three dollars and
ninety cents each ; the wool was probably worth over one dollar
per head. We saw Mr. Page's flock, of South Danvers, last
winter. He had thirty. The butcher told us that he paid
him one hundred and seven dollars for lambs they brought,
and had a good bargain. We were looking at Mr. N. Pope's
sheep early in June, 1859. He had five sheep, which brought
him ten lambs. He said the butcher offered him forty-five
dollars for the lambs a few days before. We know that good
lamb sells as high in our markets in May, June and July, as
good poultry does in November, December and January, and
we think it can be raised much cheaper.

Sheep are very social in their habits. If many are kept,
they will not mate with the cows or other stock upon the farm ;
but if we put one or two with the cows, they soon become
attached to them and seldom leave them. By beginning in
this way, we can keep a few sheep with our cows without much
trouble.

We think that we are favorably situated in this county for
raising lambs for early market. Sheep are fond of salt hay
and the coarser grasses that grow upon our fresh meadows,
particularly the Osmimda Spectabilis, or buckhorn. By giving

208 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

them a small quantity of beans or corn daily, they can be
wintered well, and if the lambs are sold early, they will recruit
before winter, even if they are required to feed our pastures
closely.

There were but two entries for tlie premiums offered for
sheep — Richard S. Fay, of Lynn, and Jacob Farnham, of North
Andover. The committee were unanimous in awarding to Mr.
Fay the first premium of ten dollars, for his flock of Oxford
Down ewes. Mr. Farnham exhibited a lot of grade South
Downs. Some of them were good, but the committee thought,
as a whole, they were not worthy of the second premium. On
some of them we noticed the marks and galls of the fetters.
We cannot expect sheep to look well if they are kept fettered ; in
the words of one who has written much upon sheep husbandry,
we would say, that " fettering may be done, as a last resort, by
those improvident farmers who prefer, by such troublesome,
injurious, and at best, insecure means, to guard against tliat
viciousness which they might so much more easily li^vc
prevented from being acquired."

The chairman would say, if he had been called upon to
express an opinion, it would have been in preference to Mr.
Fay's Oxford Down, but the committee, on whose judgment
we could rely, thought that tlie Cotswold buck was the best
suited to the wants of this county. It cannot be expected of
us to act very wisely upon a subject of which we have had so
little practical experience. Mr. Fay's animal received a prize
in England, where he had to contend with the best bucks in the
kingdom. This is not the first time that an Englishman has
been beaten by a Yankee. If we have erred in judgment,
time alone can tell which is the best animal for our own wants.
If at our shows the progeny of the Oxford Downs shall be
better than that of the Cotswold, the committee will most cheer-
fully acknowledge that they were mistaken. In order to" test the
matter, we hope to see in the offer for premiums next year, a
premium for the best lot of lambs, not less than four in
number, not less than four, nor over eight months old.

"We extract the following from Spooner, an English writer: —
" The Cotswold is a large breed of sheep, with a long and abun-
dant fleece, and the ewes arc very prolific, and good nurses.
The superior hardihood of the improved Cotswold, their adap-

SHEEP. 209

tatioii to common treatment, together with the prolific natuVc
of the ewes and their abundance of milk, have obtained for
them much attention. The quality of the mutton is considered
superior to that of the Leicester, the tallow being less abundant,
with a larger development of muscle or flesh." The Cotswold
sheep have a bright, intelligent look, compared with the dull,
dirty-faced look of the Oxford Downs, but this may be an objec-
tion rather than an advantage for practical purposes. It is well
to have sheep that do not know too much. If ever ignorance
is bliss, it may be when our sheep do not know that there is
any better feed than they enjoy. The Oxford Downs look as if
they knew just enough to eat, drink, sleep and grow fat.

William R. Putnam, Chairman.

Statement of Richard S. Fay.

You ask me to furnish some information respecting the breed
of sheep which I have had on my farm for several years, some
of which were exhibited at the Essex agricultural show last
week, under the name of Oxfordshire Downs, by which they
are now known in England. Until lately, however, they have
only been recognized as half-breeds, although for more than
twenty years they have been known as a distinct breed of sheep,
such is the dislike in England to the introduction of new breeds
in competition with old established ones.

A very good account of these sheep is to be found in the
fifteenth volume of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal,
1855, page 228 and onwards, where they are spoken of as Down
Cotswolds. A very good description is also given of them in a
previous volume of the Journal, by W. Druce, published in
1853. A more full and complete account of this breed is given
by Mr. Charles Howard, in an address before the London or
Central Farmers' Club, which is quoted in the May number of
the Farmers' Magazine for this year, page 401. What you find
stated there is confirmed by my own experience ; and, after
seven years' trial, I am satisfied that there are no sheep so well
adapted to New England as these. From my full and seven-
eighths breeds, consisting of fifty-two ewes, I had, this season,
seventy-three lambs, which were dropped in February and
March, all of which did well. These ewes yielded an average

27

210 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

of seven pounds unwashed wool, some going as liigli as twelve
pounds six ounces, worth thirty-five cents per pound. I claim
for them superiority over other sheep, for " their hardiness of
constitution, large frames, good fleeces, aptitude to fatten, and
mutton of superior quality." My original flock I selected from
the one belonging to William Gillett, of South-Leigh, mentioned
in the first article referred to. The ram exhibited before your
committee was from W. Bryan's flock, a successor to Mr.
Gillett. He is a shearling ram, weighing two hundred and
forty-five pounds, and is unquestionably the finest specimen of
the breed ever imported. 1 regret that my engagements were
such that I could not furnish you with this information when
the animals were exhibited. I am happy, however, to hear
that sheep breeders who saw them were fully impressed with
their excellence.

LiNMERE, October 1, I860.

MIDDLESEX.

Report of the Committee.

Although there were no sheep on the ground at the exhibi-
tion, owing perhaps to the " frowning heavens " tliat lowered
over us on that day, yet your committee feel that the culture
of sheep is a subject of much importance to the farmers of this
county, and they avail themselves of the present occasion, to
present some considerations relating to it.

Previous to 1812 most farmers in the county kept a few
sheep, and many who did not claim to be farmers, kept one or
more cossets to supply wool for domestic use. The wool was spun
and woven or knit in the family. Large quantities of cloths,
flannel and blankets were manufactured of excellent fabric, and
enduring (|uality. Until after the period above referred to,
little woollen cloth was made in manuftictories established for
the fabrication of woollen cloths. The commercial difficulties
of that period interfered with the importation of wool and
woollen goods, and led to the establishment of manufactories,
and to an increased demand for domestic wool. About the
years 1808 and 1810 Chancellor Livingston and Mr. Grove, of
New York, Col. Humphreys, of Connecticut, Mr. Jarvis, of

SHEEP. 211

Vermont, and other public spirited citizens imported large
numbers of merino sheep from Spain and France, which were
rapidly distributed, and greatly improved the character of the
native breeds already in the country. Elkanah Watson, Esq.,
the father of the Berkshire Agricultural Society, deserves hon-
orable mention also in this connection, for his efforts to intro-
duce merino sheep into this State. About 1786 the French
government devoted great attention to the culture of sheep. It
imported from Spain the finest merino sheep that could be
obtained, and in the space of ten years, raised the average
product of wool from six and one-half pounds to nine pounds
per head. The king of Prussia and the elector of Saxony at
the same time devoted earnest attention to sheep culture.
' Prom the European flocks thus improved, the finest samples
were selected for importation into this country. The climate
and soil, especially of New England, were found well adapted to
their constitutions and liabits.

These importations, with those which have been subsequently
added to them, constitute the basis of the wool-bearing sheep
now in the country, and it is believed that no finer sheep can
now be found in the world for the prodtiction of wool.

They belong to the smaller varieties of sheep, are prolific and
hardy, and their thick heavy fleeces enable them to bear the
variable and extreme weather of our climate. They are now
spread over the Western and Southern portions of the country.

In 1850 there were nearly twenty-two millions of sheep in
the country^ yielding fifty-two and a half millions of pounds of
wool. The number has greatly increased since 1850, and yet
more than twenty millions of pounds of wool are annually
imported.

Within a few years the long-woolled varieties have been intro-
duced, among which the Leicester and the Cotswold are the
most prominent. Their wool is particularly suited to the
fabrication of worsted goods, and the demand for it is rapidly
increasing.

They are much larger than the fine-woolled varieties, are
hardy and prolific, and make excellent mutton, not unfre-
quently weighing from forty to fifty pounds per quarter.

The South Downs, a middle-woolled breed, have also been
introduced within a few years, and "for hardiness of constitu-

212 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

tion, beauty of form, and combined value of wool and mutton,
rank with the best in Europe or America. Their mutton indeed
lias a reputation tliat commands for it a higher price than that
of any other breed." In England their meat usually averages
about twenty pounds per quarter. They are remarkably prolific
and easily reared. They prosper upon light pastures, and
winter well with ordinary keeping. In their habits they are
domestic, docile and qiiiet. They yield an average fleece of
six to seven pounds. Probably this breed is better adapted ^to
our rugged climate and hard soil than any other. But the par-
ticular breed which any one should select, must obviously
depend upon circumstances, and the particular object he has in
view in keeping them. The value of mutton, the price of wool,
the convenience of the market and the value of the land must
be taken into the account. The merinos and small breeds will
thrive well on a broken, rocky soil, wdiere scarcely any other
stock will obtain a living.

The Leicesters and Cotswold require ricli and fertile pastures.
Lands in the immediate vicinity of a market are usually con-
sidered too valuable for the production of wool, at least it may
be raised with more profit on cheaper lands, and more remote
from market, while the production of mutton is more success-
fully carried on upon good soils with ready access to market.

The facilities of transportation are now so great, that wool
may be brought to market, even from distant parts of the
country, at the cost of a trifling addition to the value of the
pound. Hence it is obvious that wool-growing may be carried
on more profitably where lands are cheaper than they are in
most parts of this county. The keeping of sheep, then, merely
for the wool, will not probably be resorted to by the farmers of
Middlesex.

But it is believed that by combining the advantages of wool-
growing and mutton-raising, the keeping of sheep may be again
rendered profitable, and that the keeping of the large breeds
chiefly for their mutton will be found good husbandry.

Major James S. Grennell, of Greenfield, in his report upon
the stock exhibition in that place in 1859, remarks, that " The
larger breeds will produce more lambs, and by good keeping,
both their quantity of wool is increased, and their tendency to
breed, and their capacity to bring up their lambs. Such sheep

SHEEP. 213

will bring up an average of fifteen lambs to ten sheep. Large,
early lambs, well started, and allowed a pint of meal daily for
the last two months, will readily fiiid a maricet here in May and
June at five dollars per head. Tlie care and trouble of such a
flock bears no proportion to that attendant on a flock of fine-
wooUed sheep. The larger breeds are not only more prolific
but hardier, and on account of their size, less liable to be
worried by dogs, less liable to disease, not so apt to ramble, and
bringing quicker returns, are more profitable to small farmers.
The middle-wools, when six years old, are capable of being
made into superb mutton from their great aptitude to take on
fat, and carcasses averaging one hundred and ten to one
hundred and twenty pounds, at ten cents per pound, and a
dollar for the pelt, making twelve dollars or thirteen dollars,
show a handsome profit on the cost of raising and fattening.
Of the various breeds probably the South Downs are at present
the greatest favorites."

The committee of the Plymouth County Agricultural Society,
on sheep, say : " We would recommend for every farmer, how-
ever limited his number of acres, to keep a few sheep." A writer
in the " Country Gentlemen," the last year, says : " I bought
three ewes, two years ago this spring. Two of them had four
ewe lambs, and last year, six of them had eight ewe lambs,
making in all fifteen ewes. I paid fourteen dollars for the first
purchase, and the wool has about paid the keep, and I have just
received seventy-five dollars for the flock."

The above remarks are as applicable to the farmers in
Middlesex as to those in any other county in the State.

But the keeping of sheep is profitable not only from the
product of wool and mutton, but from the tendency which their
keeping has to improve and enrich the land for all agricultural
purposes. There is no manure dropped by animals upon the
land so fertilizing as that of sheep, and none so evenly distrib-
uted, or which suffers so little from waste. A distinguished
German writer has calculated that the droppings of a thousand
sheep during a single night would manure an acre sufficiently
for any crop. By using a portable fence and moving it from
time to time, a farmer might manure a distant field with sheep,
at less expense than that of carting and spreading manure. By
a little pains, a large quantity of excellent manure may be made

214 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

in the winter, from a flock of slieep. Another and a strong
reason remains why the farmers of Middlesex should return to
sheep husbandry.

Many of our pasture lands exhibit a broken and rocky surface,
but little amenable to the plougli. Other portions are sandy
plains, and lie at a distance from the homes of tlieir owners.
Since the discontinuance of sheep culture, these pastures have
been severely cropped by neat stock, and have now become
nearly worthless. Many of them are covered with bushes and
briars, or with mosses and worthless grasses. Experience
shows that sheep walks instead of becoming exhausted, uni-
formly grow better and more productive, and that one of the
most effectual means of destroying the bushes and mosses, and
bringing back the white clover and sweet grasses to an exhausted
pasture, is to turn upon it a flock of sheep. A gentleman writ-
ing from Plymouth County in 1859, remarks: " Some of the
finest examples are afforded here of the effects of feeding sheep
upon pastures that have become exhausted of nutritious grasses,
and grown to bushes, briars, brakes and moss. I have seen
pastures to-day that had become almost worthless, but now
green and smiling as a lawn, with every inch among the rocks
covered with the richest pasture grasses, and not a blackberry
vine, wild rose bush, muUen or other useless plant in sight.
The sward docs not seem bound and compact, but loose and
porous, and filled with the most healthy and vigorous roots.
The sheep grazing upon these pastures afford ample evidence of
the richness and luxuriance of the grasses upon which they
feed. These examples, with similar ones which I have observed
in other places widely remote, would seem to shed light on the
perplexing question so often asked. How shall I reclaim my
old pasture ? All over New England there are thousands of
acres producing little or nothing, that might be renovated by
the introduction of sheep upon them, while the profits of the
slieep themselves I believe would be larger than from the same
amount of money invested in cows. I have been told of an
instance where a hundred acre pasture fed scantily only twelve
sheep and six cows the first year, but on the second summer fed
well twenty sheep and twelve cows, and continued to increase
in fertility until more than double this number was fed upon
it." R. S. Fay, Esq., the highly intelligent secretary jaf the

SHEEP. 215

Massacliiisetts Agricultural Society, remarked in 1855 : " The
great diminution of sheep husbandry in this State, is mucli to
be deplored. Sheep are the most active and profitable agents
in the work of amelioration and farm improvement." There is
abundant testimony from intelligent and observing agriculturists
to the same effect.

The principal objections to sheep culture are the destruction
occasioned by dogs and tlie expense of fencing. The former
objection, we trust, is obviated by the wise provisions of the
existing law. If they are not sufficient, the matter is in the
hands of the farmers themselves. They can have such legisla-
tion as will meet the necessities of the case.

The second objection would have more weight, if we had
only the. long-legged, agile breed of sheep that roamed over our
hills sixty years ago. But breeds are now to be found, that are
quiet and orderly, and may be easily restrained by a common
fence, or at most by the addition of an extra rail, or a pole
on the wall, and these are the breeds which both interest and
convenience will induce our farmers to keep.

Our conclusions then are that the farmers of Middlesex
should return to the keeping of small flocks of long-woolled or
middle-woolled sheep, that they will find their products of wool
and mutton a source of profit, and especially that it would be
the means of ameliorating the condition of the exhausted
pasture lands, and restoring them to their former fertility.

Joseph Reynolds, Chairman.

WORCESTER.

From the Report of the Committee.
The. business of sheep raising in this county has of late years
received but little attention, and a few facts in relation to this
department of husbandry may be worthy of consideration.
The matter has become a serious one with our farmers, how
their worn out and stony pastures which cannot be cultivated
are to be renovated. Where plaster can be applied with bene-
fit, and the expense of cartage is not too great, it is a valuable
and cheap fertilizer. But many soils derive no benefit by its

216 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

use. IIow then shall tliese pastures be reclaimed ? It is
claimed that sheep will renovate them. They readily feed, too,
upon many of those grasses and low bushes that neat stock
reject, which have crept into our pastures, and which cannot
be extirpated.

It has been asserted — and we have no reason to doubt the
fact — that to a pasture that will keep a given numl)cr of cows,
as many sheep may be added without impairing its fertility.
And as six sheep require about the same amount of food as a
cow, per day, — or two and a half and three per cent, of their
weight, — it will be seen that a farmer can pasture a few sheep
with his neat stock, with little or no added expense, and at the
same time increase the fertility of the land. By stabling our
dairy cows at night, as is tlie general custom, our pastures are
becoming rapidly exhausted.

From the testimony of those who have gone extensively into
this l)ranch of husbandry, particularly those in the Valley of
the Connecticut, and in Essex County, no stock pays a better
profit than sheep ; and it will not be claimed that any portion
of the Commonwcallh is better adapted to sheep-growing than
Worcester County.

In England, where lands are of much higher value than
with us, and mutton and wool bring about the same price as
here, sheep-growing is an important branch of production, and
is regarded as profitable. In the selection of breeds, regard
should be had to the value of the wool, and the weight and
quality of carcass.

A. G. Hill, Chairman.

. HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND HAMPDEN.

Report of the Committee.

In attempting to make a report upon sheep, your committee
are aware that in some respects they are travelling a beaten
path, and that they are, on the contrary, to seek for truth
among the conflicting statements of interested parties, and
unsettled opinions of inidecided experimenters.

The first inquiry that presents itself to the person who essays
to buy a flock of sheep, is, will it pay ? On this point there is
the unanimous opinion of all parties that it will. So far as

SHEEP. 217

the product of wool and mutton is concerned, it is conceded
that sheep are as profitable as cows, if not more so ; and that
it is obtained with less labor.

There is another consideration which ought not to be over-
looked. The inquiry, since sheep-keeping has been abandoned,
is often started, " What shall we do to improve our worn-out
pastures ? " WJicn sheep were universally kept, this question
was never asked, because sheep are ever improving the ground
on which they feed. It is said that in England, land is some-
times manured by confining sheep on a small surface at night
and moving their pens till the whole field is treated to a few
nights' lodging. Stephens says that a dressing thus given by
three hundred sheep is sufficient in a week for an acre of land,
and is worth fifteen dollars. We have other testimony to the
same point. We deem these suggestions worthy of serious
consideration. May not the universal deterioration of lands in
our rural towns be attributed to the fact that the keeping of
sheep has been abandoned for the keeping of cattle ? It is laid
down as a fact among the English farmers, " that the wealth
and success of a farmer may be pretty well calculated by the
amount of his sheep stock."

We are not prepared, however, to recommend the keeping
of sheep to the entire exclusion of cattle. They are both
needed upon the farm, and while it is impracticable to keep
both at the same time in the same field, they should occupy the
same land for pasture in alternate years, that it may thus be
kept in a productive condition : the sheep supplying that which
the cattle have exhausted.

The next inquiry that suggests itself is, " What breeds of
sheep are most desirable for our farmers to keep ? " The
answer to this must of course be. varied by circumstances. If
the farmer is so situated that the fine-wools are to be preferred,
then he will probably find nothing better suited to his purpose
than the Spanish merino. Matthew Smith, of Middlefield, wlio
has kept a flock of this breed for many years, and whose opin-
ion in such matters is worthy of confidence, gives a decided
preference to them over all others, for localities where raising
lambs for an early market is not practicable. He keeps the
same flock of ewes through successive years, but changes the
buck annually, which he usually obtains from the best flocks

28

218 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

ill Vermont. He also deems it important to procure the differ
cnt liucks from different sections of the State. In this way he
has greatly improved his flock and nearly doubled the amount
of wool from each sheep.

The long-wooUed sheep next claim attention. That kind of
long wool wliich is strong enough for making delaines, com-
mands a price nearly e<|ual to good fmc-wools, but the almost
universal want of strength in sucli wool, prevents its being used
for this purpose, and hence this class of wool being unfit for
broadcloths, must necessarily go down into competition with
ground rags and whatever else may be used for the purpose,
and be worked into satinets. The long-wooUed breeds, Cots-
wolds, Leicesters, Oxfords, &g., have desirable qualities for the
shambles, however, but we are not convinced from the best
evidence we can obtain, that they are on the whole, as profitable
as some other kinds. Samuel Thorn, of Dutchess County, N. Y.,
an extensive and intelligent importer of some of these breeds,
has, after a long trial, abandoned them — a fact of some conse-
quence to those who lack experience in these matters.

Our third and last inquiry brings us to the consideration of
the middling-woolled sheep, as combining qualities suitable for
the shambles and for wool-raising.

Samuel Thorn, whom we have already quoted as a man of
experience in these matters, gives his preference to the Webb
importation of South Downs, as being superior to all other
varieties, or breeds. His flock combine many good poiilts, in
some of which they excel all others. Their bodies are long,
legs short, wool close, firm and sufficiently fine to command
a fair price for cloths.

H. F. French, in the " New England Farmer," says : " What
we want for sheep in New England is, the breed that, consider-
ing the climate and soil, will give us the greatest return in the
shortest time. Early maturity, weight and quality of meat
and of fleece, aptitude to fatten and fecundity, are the points
to be considered. In the fertile fields in the south and west of
England, the Leicesters, .in all but the last quality, seem to
combine a larger average of those good points than any other.
They are not so prolific as the South Downs. My own belief is
that they will not be found well adapted to the poor fare and
cold winters of New Endand. The South Downs are far more

SHEEP. 219

hardy, producing a better quality of mutton and wool, though
not quite so heavy a fleece. They do not mature so early or
attain so great a weight of meat as the Leicesters, when fed in
the English style, with turnips and oil cake. They are accounted
far more prolific, a flock of ewes often averaging one and a half
lambs, while a Leicester flock does well to average one lamb to
each ewe."

The sheep on exhibition at the recent show in Northampton,
were chiefly South Downs, mixed with other breeds. Although
they were good animals, and in many respects far ahead of
ordinary flocks, we are inclined to think that purer blooded
animals might be made still more profitable to the owners.
Good points, well established, are very desirable, as they can be
relied upon with some degree of certainty. The South Down
sheep of Mr. Linus Greene, of Hadley, were large and hardy
looking. Mr. Greene sold his lambs from them last summer,
for more than five dollars per head. He replenishes his flock
by lambs raised as cossets. The buck of John A. Morton, of
Hadley, also a South Down, mixed with merino, was the best
looking animal of the kind, exhibited. His fleece is firm, and
of tolerable fineness, and his body of good proportions. The
buck of J. M. Chapman, of Westhampton, was a fine animal
and yields a heavy fleece, but of coarser grade. The only other
buck exhibited, that of Orange S. Moore, of Southampton, was
of the English and Leicester breeds. He was five and a half
months old, weighed ninety-six pounds, and possessed desirable
qualities. But our examination of these various animals, with
the information obtained of their owners relative to their respec-
tive value, tended only to confirm our opinion that the South
Downs are the breed of sheep which will yield the greatest
profit to the farmer. There is an insuperable objection to some
of the long-wooUed sheep, which, were there no other reason,
will prevent their becoming a favorite with large farmers.
They do not thrive well in flocks, unless they have extra care
and feed.

Without citing further proof of the suggestions we have
made, we leave the subject in the hands of those immediately
interested, believing that its importance demands the consider-
ation it receives.

Hiram Barrds, Chairman.

220 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

PLYMOUTH.

From the Report of the Committee.

•

The exhibition of slieep seems to have exceeded those here-
tofore, both as to number and quality. Your committee
believe sheep husbandry is beginning to be better appreciated
by our farmers ; we are quite sure no stock is so profitable.

Contrast, for instance, the dairy stock ; take into account
the choice feed which is requisite to do any thing like a suc-
cessful business, and the daily routine of work and never-
ending labor, with our dry and almost barren fields — the slight
care and oversight of a flock of sheep, which are at pasture the
greater part of the time.

The reason why sheep have become so nearly extinct in
many parts of our county, is mainly the ravages of dogs in
past years, l)ut under the present law, we have little to fear.
And we hope yet to see our waste lands and old fields stocked
with sheep as in former times. But the law should be that
no dog shall run at large without his master.

We sometimes hear objections urged against keeping sheep,
that the wool docs not command the price it formerly did. That
is very true ; yet tlie increasing demand and ready market in
our cities and villages for early lambs, more than makes up the
deficiency on the fleece. At no time was tliere ever greater
encouragement for a farmer to engage in this branch of business.

Those of us who keep sheep know full well the tempting
prices offered for our choice lambs, which we have decided to
keep to replenish our flocks.

Mr. Davis's sheep are of the Oxford Down variety, which is
a new breed, now highly prized in England, made out of a
cross between the South Down and Cotswold. They are smaller
than the Leicester — arc more prolific, nurse better, make better
mutton, and are supposed to be better suited to our soil and
climate. The' Leicester may be more profitable to the butcher,
but requires more care. It is questionable whether the pure
Leiccsters would maintain their size and thrift on our soil.
Under the head of flocks of sheep, the committee understand
wethers, bucks and ewes, of a year or over, to be included.

ErHRAiM B. Thompson, Chairman.

POULTRY. 221

POULTRY

MIDDLESEX.

From the Report of the Committee.

The committee on poultry are gratified at the increased
attention which is being paid to this kind of stock, by a portion
of our intelligent and enterprising farmers, believing, as we do,
that no other farm stock yields so large a per centum of profit,
or affords more pleasure in the rearing.

There was a less number of fowls on exhibition at the late
fair, than on some former occasions, (owing, probably, to the
inclemency of the weather,) but those that were presented were
of great excellence, and reflected much credit on the exhib-
itors. A breed of fowls, in order to commend itself to the
attention of the farmer, should possess several qualifications not
always found in the poultry yard.

1. It should come to maturity early. It is evident that a
pullet which commences laying at four months of age, is of much
greater value than one which yields no income till eight months
have expired ; and chickens which are fit for the market in
July and August, command a much higher price than those
which do not arrive at maturity till November.

2. The hens should be good layers, and at the same time
possess tender and juicy flesh, in order to fulfil the require-
ments of the table.

A breed of fowls possessing these qualities will always, with
good care, yield large profits, and afford great satisfaction in the
rearing; always affording the means of furnishing the table
with food that is delicate and also nutritious.

J. B. Farmer, Esq., to whom the committee award the
highest premium, seems to have succeeded, by judicious cross-
ing, in obtaining a flock of fowls which combine all the required
excellencies. They are of medium size, and come to maturity
at four months of age ; are excellent layers, and the chickens,
when dressed, command the highest market prices. His fowls
are a mixture of the AVhite Dorking, White Shanghai, and
Black Spanish breeds.

222 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

Your committee will not here discuss the merits of the differ-
ent breeds of fowls, as they believe more depends on the man-
agement than on the breed. They will simply suggest, however,
that when eggs alone are the object, the Black Spanish is an
excellent variety, as the hens seldom desire to sit.

If one desires to rear chickens for the market, as well as to
be supplied with eggs, the Dorking would be a good breed ; or
a mixture of the Dorking or Black Spanish with the common
native breeds would produce desirable results. But any breed,
with proper attention, will produce a profit ; while no fowls,
if neglected, will yield enough to pay the keeping and trouble.
In looking over the statements of the exhibitors, we find that
the profits on well managed flocks of poultry are very large ;
in some instances amounting to three or four hundred per
cent, on the capital invested. It is not always possible to
make so large a profit as this, but your committee are satisfied
from having kept accurate accounts for series of years, of the
expenses and income of a flock of fowls, and from information
derived from others who have done the same thing, that one
dollar profit may be made on each hen kept, if the flock does
not exceed fifty in number. And this may be done every year
"with only ordinary care.

Where very large flocks have been kept together, the profits
have been less ; and we would recommend that in case more
than fifty are kept, that the flock be divided ; in which case we
have no doubt but that one dollar would be the minimum
annual profit on each hen ; which, calling the value of the hen
fifty cents, would be two Iiiindred per cent. Does any other
branch of farming pay so large a per centum of profit ? If it
does, we have yet to learn what it is. But it may be asked,
why more people have not engaged in poultry-rearing, if it is
so profitable ? The truth is, that comparatively few people
have made it profitable, which docs not seem strange to those
who know how a large number of farmers and others, have
managed the business. Those who do 9iol make it pay, may be
divided into two classes.

1. Those who, a few years ago, were afflicted with a peculiar
disease, known as " hen fever," which affected the pockets
more than other parts of the system, causing tliat organ to
contract in direct ratio to the intensity of the fever. It is not

■ POULTRY. 223

strange that those who paid Burnham $25 per pair for fowls
whose chief recommendations were long legs and outlandish
names, should find, in the end, that the profits, like the
" extended " liquors of the celebrated ex-commissioner, were
somewhat dUuted.

2. That large class of farmers and others, who keep a few
hens and turkeys more from the force of habit than from any
other cause, and who adopt as their rule of action the maxim
that all creatures should " cut their own fodder." Conse-
quently their fowls are allowed to shift for themselves, and to
ramble in whatever direction they please ; and being conscious
of the fact that they have got to " scratch for a living," tliey
set about it with commendable zeal, helping themselves to
every thing that comes in their way, never stopping to discrimi-
nate in favor of the young cabbages, or to consider the havoc
they arc making with the newly raked onion bed ; and laying
their eggs where it is not always convenient for tiieir owner to
find them.

In winter, the only protection given them is often an open
shed ; and their feed is dealt out when it best suits the conve-
nience of the master. Hence, they eat voraciously when they
do get any thing, and the eggs tliey lay are few and far
between. This class of people generally consider fowls a nuis-
ance : and they are so to them, and the sooner they get rid of
them the better. These same persons would not turn a fine
cow out into the cold and sleet, and feed her once a day or
twice, as happened most convenient, and then expect her to
yield the same quantity of milk that she would in a warm barn,
with an ample and regular supply of feed. Why should they
expect more of a hen than they do of a cow ? And yet you
will hear these persons grumbling that their poultry does not
lay as well as that of their neighbor. If they would go to
their neighbor and find out how he manages, and bear in mind
the maxim of Franklin, " No gains without pains," and believe
that even they themselves can learn something, they might
succeed better. But as they belong to the class of anti-pro-
gressives, who know enough already, perhaps this is too much
to expect of them.

We can see no good reason why not only every farmer,
but also every mechanic and laborer, of ordinary intelligence,

224 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

who owns cnongli laud for a poultry yard, should uot have a
flock of poultry, aud make it profitable. The capital necessary
to start with, is within the reach of almost every one, and in
almost every family there is enough refuse food to feed a flock
of twenty fowls. The rearing would not only be a source of
profit and pleasure to the family, but would place at their
command a most desirable dish in warm weather, viz. : a tender
chicken, and be one of the best means, in our judgment, of
elevating themselves and families in the social scale. For the
benefit of this class of people, and all others who may wish
to enter upon the business of rearing poultry, we propose
briefly, to give a method of feeding and management, ■which
we think will insure success, provided the person who under-
takes it possesses a reasonable amount of intelligence and
common sense.

1. It is essential that poultry should have pure air. Too
many should not be kept together, and the hen-house should be
well ventilated; having a southern exposure, if convenient;
and there should be as many windows as possible in the south
side, for the admission of the sun in winter. There should
also be a large yard connected with the house, where the fowls
should always be permitted to go in moderate weather.

2. Pure water should be accessible to them at all times ; the
inside of the house should be kept well white-washed ; the floor —
which should always be ground — should be spread frequently
with a coating of loam or meadow muck ; and ashes or sand
should be furnished at all seasons of the year for the fowls to
wallow in.

3. Avoid breeding in and in, and do not keep fowls that
are more than two years of age, except for the purpose of
rearing chickens.

4. In rearing early chickens and turkeys, be careful to guard
them from exposure to cold and wet when young.

5. The feed of poultry is a matter of great importance, and
much might be said in relation to it, but we shall be obliged to
touch upon it very lightly, as this report is already much too
long.

We would say, first, give them the potato peelings, crumbs,
&c., from the table, and, in fact, all the refuse food, that
is usually thrown to the hogs. In addition to the above.

POULTRY. 225

furnish fowls that are being fattened, with a liberal supply
of corn ; and those that are intended for laying, with little or
no corn, but with oats, wheat screenings, barley, and some
animal food, as scraps, young veal, &g. Also give them oyster
shells pounded fine, or lime in some other form, and allow them
to ramble a portion of each day at least, to eat grass, &c. It
is a well known fact to all successful poultry raisers, that a hen
fed exclusively on corn, while she Avill fatten readily, will lay
very few eggs. The reason is obvious. Corn is composed
largely of starch, which is a fat producing element, and is defi-
cient in the nitrogenous substances of which the egg is mainly
made up. Hence, the hen fed on corn, lays on fat, but does
not yield eggs, simply because the corn does not contain the
requisite material. And, on the other hand, the hen which is
fed on oats, animal food, etc., which yield a large per cent, of
nitrogenous substances, will generally lay freely, because she
has the requisite " where-with-all " for that purpose. But she
will never become very fat, unless corn or some other fat
producing feed be added to the diet. It is not desirable, how-
ever, that a laying hen should be very fat. A flock of poultry,
fed in the above manner, will produce fat or eggs, just as the
owner desires, and cannot help themselves. It has been deter-
mined, by experiment, that fowls which have feed by them all
the time, consume less than when fed at intervals, and your
committee would therefore recommend a constant supply.

If the policy which we have indicated above be adopted, we
are confident in the belief that the fowls will be at all times i'vQe
from disease, and that all who give poultry rearing a fair trial,
will find the results to be satisfactory.

J. B. Brown, Ckairman.

CoxcoKD, September, 1860.

29

22(3 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

THE DAIllY.

"WORCESTER. ,

From the Report of the Committee.

"We have a home market insufficiently supplied by our own
producers ; butter made at our own door presents a more invit-
ing appearance to the purchasers than that which has borne the
heat and the jolting of a long carriage. Always, purchasers
are in our hall as ready to give the highest price as they are
desirous of purchasing the best article.

Much butter is offered in the market at a shilling the pound ;
and it would seem as if, when to the actual value of the article
in the market the society adds by way of premium an amount
varying from seventeen to fifty cents per pound, it had done all
it could be expected to do to secure a spirited and general com-
petition. So much has been written upon the subject of the
manufacture of butter, that no hope is indulged of adding by
way of remark, any information to what would seem to be a
well told tale.

In spite of all that has been said, at every exhibition of the
kind, competitors fail of success, when it would seem defeat
could be most easily guarded against. Thus, for instance, at
our present exhibition, more than one competitor failed for
want of thoroughly extracting the buttermilk from the butter.

In answer to the inquiries prepared by the society, one
exhibitor states that he works his butter by hand, and all state
that they do not make use of any labor-saving machine in the
manufacture of this article.

Tlie committee do not mean to hazard the assertion that
good butter cannot be ivorked by liand and remain ^oo^; but
they do make the safe statement that all butter if worked by
machinery is better than if worked by hand.

Good cows, good feed, pure water, the utmost cleanliness, all
agree are essentials to the manufacture of good butter. Differ-
ences exist as to the time requisite for churning. But it is
believed that more depends upon the mode in which this pro-
cess is performed, than upon the time consumed in the opera-
tion ; and perhaps, after all, the temperature of the cream at

THE DAIRY. 227

the time of cluirning is of quite as iniicli importance as either
of the other points. The writer has found, by his experience,
these two propositions to be true, — first, the warmer the cream
the quicker it is churned, and, as a general rule, the quicker
the churning, the poorer, that is the softer and more oily, the
butter. After the churning, the next point is the salting. And
here the committee would repeat, that some of the lots wore
much injured by the excess of this article. Not only was it
present in excess, but of such size as to grate between the teeth.
Bearing in mind that the consumer can easily supply a slight
deficiency, while it is impossible for him to subtract from the
amount already incorporated in the butter, all will agree that
it is preferable to use too little than too much salt. Besides, a
large supply of this article rather detracts from than adds to the
true flavor of butter. As a rule it is thought that not more
than one pound of salt should be added to twenty pounds of
butter. If, when the butter has come in the churn, the butter-
milk is well worked out, this amount of salt is well incorporated
in the mass, and the whole left in a cool place for twenty-four
hours, and then again well worked by the " Butter Worker,''''
and lumped for market, a really good article is not produced, it
may be set down for certain, provided the consistency of the
butter shows a proper mode of churning, that the fault lies
elsewhere than in the process of manufacture.

Subsequent to the examination and award of premiums by
the committee, two other boxes of lump butter, marked nine
and ten, were placed in the hall of the society. These were
examined by a portion of the committee, and in their opinion,
would have received a premium had they been seasonably
entered with the secretary. Both lots were well made, and of
high flavor and fine consistency, and the committee regretted
that the owners had failed to comply with the rules of the
society.

Among the implements which filled the halls of the society,
the attention of the committee was called to one, around which
was gathered a highly gratified crowd of spectators. Tliis was
a Butter Tjfble or Butter Worker, manufactured and exhibited
by Nourse, Mason & Co., of Boston and Worcester. It consists
of a slab of maple, raised a little at one side, upon which rests
a fluted roller revolving upon a wooden shaft, one end of which

228 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

is secured to an upright pin at the lower edge of tlie platform
or table. Laying the butter upon this table, and passing the
roller backwards and forwards over it, it is rolled out into a thin
sheet, which is turned up and lapped together and rolled out
again, till every particle of buttermilk is separated, and the
butter more thoroughly worked than in any other possible mode.
By the same implement the salt may be incorporated with the
butter more easily and thoroughly than by any other process.

From a long experience in its use, the chairman would
recommend every proprietor of a dairy, who is desirous of man-
ufacturing a superior article of butter, to supply himself with
one of these " Workers.'^ Thereby he will assure to himself,
with the recurrence of every churning, the blessings of her who
is above all the great essential in the manufacture of this arti-
cle of universal use.

William S. Lincoln, Chairman.

As a matter which may be of interest, the following compar-
ative table has been made from the statements of the several
competitors for the premium on butter.

The period of trial was from the 1st of June to the 10th
of September, 1860. The animals in all instances derived their
support from pasture feed. In one instance the practice was
adopted of keeping the animals in the barn over night.

No statement is given of the process of manufacture.

The owner of Lot 2, from 5 cows, made 293 lbs. butter.

3,

4

((

a

400

4,

8

u

u

G02

5,

^

((

a

7q.') 1 and 234 cheese,
'^-"2 or 7S butter.

6,

6

(I

a

715

7,

41

ii

a

254

8,

4

((

((

336

HAMPDEN.

Statement of Mrs. James Wallace.
Butter. — ^ly butter was made and put down the first week
in June, 1860, from two cows, one a half Devon and native, the
other oao-quurter Ayrshire and native. Feed common pasture.

BEE CULTURE. 229

The milk and cream churned together, milk standing twenty-
four hours before churning. Churned in Kendall's rotary
churn ; time churning from fifteen to twenty minutes, tempera-
ture regulated by the finger, (the best thermometer,) if too low
I add a little hot water. My reason for churning milk and
cream together is, that the butter is less oily to the taste.
When taken from the churn, the butter is washed in cold
water with a ladle until all the buttermilk disappears, then
salted with one ounce and a half salt per pound, and worked until
all the water is expressed. When the jar is full, I place a
cloth, thickly strown with salt over the top to exclude the air.
Butter thus made and put down will keep any length of time,
if placed in a cool cellar, free from foul air. Butter made
in this manner is well known to the English navy, and carried
by them, and, after a five years' cruise, has proved to be as
sweet as when shipped. The butter made and sold from
these two cows, from January to October, was one hundred and
seventy pounds, beside supplying a family.

BEE CULTURE.

HAMPSHIRE.

From the Report of the Committee on Bees and Honey.
Is it best to keep bees ? I answer yes, it is both profitable
and instructive to raise bees and honey, if properly managed.
An ordinary share of good common sense, with a little experi-
ence, are the only outfits needed, for commencing the experi-
ment. I said it was profitable and instructive, this matter of
bee-making. The market sales of honey and bees-wax, and the
delicious luxury afforded for the table, are evidences of profit,
while the lessons that may be learned, and the pleasures expe-
rienced by watching and studying the habits of these indus-
trious workers, affords a true source of pleasure and recreative
instruction. Besides, a row of bee-hives, and a tidy, neatly
constructed apiary, are ornaments to the household premises.
In fact, a farm-yard is hardly perfect without them. I am not

230 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

about to write a treatise upon bees, and bee-keeping. There
are quite enough of these already. I shall aim at being prac-
tical in what I have to say, and confine myself to a few simple,
pertinent suggestions, that I think may meet the wants of those
who wish to keep bees with economy and profit, without incur-
ring much expense for either imported bees or patent hives.

The Bee-hive. — Do not enter largely into the trial and
experiment Avith patent hives. It will not pay. Sporting
gentlemen, and fancy farmers who have ample means and
plenty of cash to spare, can afford to try the experiment of
testing and becoming disappointed with patent hives. But
farmers of moderate means, I ask you to make your oivn. You
can make just as good a hive, and one that will answer every
purpose of the costly patent one. You can make a hive that
will save the bees, and give you the honey they do not need,
and this is all that a ten-dollar patent hive can do. I object to
most i)atent hives, on these grounds. There are too many
kinds, quite as numeroiis as patent churns and washing-
machines. They arc too costly for general use. They are too
complicated in their construction, having as many labyrinths
and angles as a diagram of a proposition in geometry. And
again, they are no better than a simple, unpatented article, that
every farmer can make with a plane, saw and hammer. I
advise you not to buy largely of patent hives, but to make your
own. And I will tell you how ; perhaps you know already as
well as I do.

The hive that answers all purposes, and the one that I Avould
recommend, is the common oblong box-hive, with a chamber
and drawers in the top. It should be made large enougli in the
lower part to hold plenty of honey for the winter consumption
of the colony. The chamber above should be of sufficient size
to contain two drawers that will hold the surplus honey that
the bees do not need. All the joints of the hive should be
perfectly tight, so as to afford no lurking place for the bee-moth
or vermin. The drawers should be alike, and completely fill
the chamber. A movable pane of glass should constitute the
end of each drawer. The chamber should be closed by a
sliding-door, or a panel with liinges. Each drawer sliould
communicate with the lower apartment by a hole in the centre
of the bottom, an inch or more in diameter. This hole should

BEE CULTURE. 231

be closed with a piece of tin, until the bottom of the hive is
filled with honey. In no case should the bees be permitted to
make honey for the use of their owners until they have filled
their own store-house with a winter's supply. The above
described hive is equally as good as a ten-dollar, patent one, and
will cost but a trifle. It affords a chance to get the surplus
honey without destroying the bees, and this is the only com-
mendable advantage of any of the patent articles.

The Bee-house. — Where is the best place to set the hives ?
Some prefer placing them under the shade of a tree, upon
a form, without any other covering. Others think it best to
arrange them in a house or shed, closely enclosed on three
sides, with a roof above. About a middle course is evidently
the better way, viz. : a simple roof covering, open on all sides.
Bees want plenty of pure, fresh air. They will not thrive
without it. A bee-house enclosed on three sides is too close
and hot, and will not admit enough air. A simple roof
covering is all that is necessary, under which is a form for the
reception of the hives. The face of the hive should open
to the south, and should be placed, if possible, so that from ten
to two o'clock it may be shaded by some tree. All bee-hives,
during the summer months, should be elevated from the bottom
board on which they stand, at least half an inch. This can be
done by placing a wedge of wood under each corner of the
hive. Free ingress and egress are thus allowed, also fresh air,
and no lodging place for the eggs of the miller.

The drawers should go in on the back part of the hive, so
that they can be approached without disturbing the bees, or
getting stung by them.

Hiving the New Colonies. — Young swarms of bees begin
to leave the hive, usually about the middle of May. From one
to three young swarms go out in the course of six weeks from
a single, well-stocked hive. It requires some considerable tact
to hive the young swarms with success. They commonly leave
the old hive from between nine o'clock to three o'clock in the
afternoon. The day before swarming, they often forsake the
hive and hang out in a mass upon the sides or bottom of the
hive. Do not be in too great a hurry to secure them after they
alight; go to work steadily ; there will be plenty of time. Place
a table under the limb on which they have alighted, spread over

232 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

it a clean, white cloth, a sheet or table-cloth will answer the
purpose well. Place upon this a couj)le of pieces of slit-work,
about ten inches apart, upon which to elevate the hive. Now
take firmly hold of the limb while an assistant saws it cleanly
olf. Place it \^ith gentleness upon the table between the two
billets of wood and put the hive over them. Now cover the
hive with a second sheet and then leave them ; they will soon
go up into the hive. It is well to rub the inside of the hive
with salted water or green walnut leaves, before hiving the bees.
They take to it sooner, and more kindly. At nightfall place
the hive with much gentleness where it is to remain during the
summer. The drawers should be closed in the new hive until
the lower department is filled. The hives should not stand out
of doors during the winter season in these latitudes. They
should be removed into a warm, dry, unoccupied out-house or
kitchen cellar, away from the wind and winter storms. Wlien
the spring opens, and the first flowers begin to appear, or even
in sugaring time, when they can have access to the sap of the
sugar-maple, place them again in the bee-house.

Hunting Wild Bees. — I approach a subject upon which I
have never seen any thing written. It is well known that our
forests are the homes of many swarms of wild bees. They go
off from the domesticated colonies, and seek refuge in the hollow
of some good old tree, and there deposit their honey. It requires
some experience and skill to hunt wild bees with success. Tlie
outfit for bee-hunting is a bee-box, properly constructed with
comb and honey, slightly scented with oil of thyme or anise.
The box should have a glass in the top or side, covered with a
sliding panel, through which the comb and bees can be seen, to
admit light. The bee-hunter secures from a bunch of flowers a
few wild bees in his box. The panel is now removed, and the
light admitted. Or, if he can find no bees upon tlie flowers, he
burns a piece of honey-comb upon a heated stone, the scent of
which draws plenty of bees around him. He places the open
box near his " altar of incense," and the bees soon alight upon
the honey-comb, and begin to feed. Plaving in one of these two
ways secured a few working wild bees, he places the open box
upon a high stump, and sits down leisurely to watch them.
The bees having supplied themselves with a freight of honey,
depart for home. Rising from the box, they fly in circles about

BEE CULTURE. 233

it, and then take a bee-line or straight course for the bee-tree.
Now comes the hunter's coveted opportunity. He wishes to get
the " line of the swarm," as it is called. With a practiced eye,
he watches the bees until they are beyond his sight, and finally
determines by their unerring course, the direction of the bee-
tree. Having " got the line," he closes his box on tlie bees,
and moves on toward the " bee-tree." He then takes a new
stand, and makes new observations, and thus gradually nears
the wild colony, searching all the while for them in every lioUow
tree, until he at last discovers their retreat. An experienced
bee-hunter having once got the line of a swarm, seldom fails of
finding it. Large quantities of honey have often been found
deposited in the capacious hollows of some of our forest trees.
The sport of bee-lmnting, setting aside the honey, amply com-
pensates for the time devoted to it, as a pleasant and healthful
recreation.

Uses of Honey and Wax. — Honey affords for the talkie one
of the most delicious luxuries. Bread and butter and honey,
why, it makes one's mouth water to write about it. No dessert
can be named more delectably palatable and rich. Boiled with
water and spices, and fermented, it makes metheglin, a choice
medicinal drink. It also enters largely into many of the choicest
medicaments of the apothecary, and is highly esteemed among
medical men as a valuable article of the materia-medica. Bees-
wax, made from the honey-comb, is also very valuable for many
purposes. What house-wife or seamstress could possibly get
along without her ball of white wax, for polishing furniture and
smoothing thread and silk ? It is also used in the laundry, and
by the tallow chandler. It enters into the composition of many
famous salves and unguents. The nurseryman uses it in pre-
paring his grafting-wax, and the dentist in taking impressions
for setting artificial teeth. It would be impossible to name here
all the uses to which honey and wax are applied.

The Moral op Bee-keeping. — We cannot close our subject
without a few " inferences," as the clergy say, " drawn from
the habits " of bees. From their well known diligence comes
one of our pleasantest proverbs, " As busy as a bee." They
commence their work early, and pursue it unremittingly
through the day. Tlicy never stop to play, or lounge among

■60

234 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE.

flowers, nor to fight, unless in self-defence. They well
deserve the sweet lines of the poet in kindly mention —

" How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour."

"We learn from these well known habits of the bee, thfit it is
best to " Work while the sun shines," and that " Diligence is
the life of business." At a certain season, a portion of the
bees become of no farther use, and they are destroyed and
turned out of the liive as drones and pests of the colony. We
learn by this, that drones and lazy people are not to be tole-
rated, and that those who " will not work, ouglit not to eat."
We should hardly like to carry the discipline quite as far as
the bees do, and destroy them, however. Again^ if meddlers
hang around the hive and tantalize the busy workers, as they
turn away, tliey often feel a " sting behind." We learn by
this that it is always best to " mind our own business."

Synopsis of Mr. Root's Statement. — Mr. Root has tried
several patent hives, but prefers among them. Col ton's patent.
The chief difficulties in keeping bees and managing them suc-
cessfully, are — wintering them, getting' them in a condition to
sivarni earli/, and keeping them free from the bee-moth. Bees
want plenty of fresh air. They do not die from cold or frost,
but from want of air. The moisture in the hive freezes in cold
weather, and makes ice between the layers of comb, and keeps
the air from the bees. This happens oftenest at the bottom of
the hive. To remedy this evil, he vents his hives in the middle,
so as to let in plenty of air. Few bees treated in this way will
die, and the colony will be in good condition to swarm early, if
they winter well. He has never lost a swarm of bees by moths
in twenty years' experience, keeping from ten to twenty swarms
annually. To keep off the moth, he planes or scrapes the bot-
tom board in the spring and gets olf all the cement and comb
that makes a lodging place for the eggs of the miller. He also
keeps the board clean, by daily brushing during the spring.
After the comb is covered, there is no danger from vermin.
He sets his hives in the open air, without any bee-house of any
kind.

David Rice, Chairman.

INDEX

TO THE SECRETARY'S REPORT,

Agricultural Societies, reports of delegates to,
Breeding, principles of, .

Cattle, importance of.

Cattle Disease, contagious nature of the
" " introduction of the,

" " improperly named,

" " legislation upon the,

" " patholog}' of the,

" " spread of the,

Cattle Commissioners, appointment of,
" " labors of the,

'' " memorial of the

'* " report of the,

Colts, training of.

Cotton Seed Meal,

Cotswolds, qualities of the,

Crops, weighing of,

Cross-breeding, principles of,

Diseases of Plants,
Drainage, importance of.

Eclipse, remarkable powers of,
Flowage of Low Lands,

Harris on Insects Lijurious to Vegetation,
Horse, care of the,

" clipping of the, .

" description of the,

" education of the,

" origin of the,

" points of the,

" Arabian, .

" the Morgan,

" the Thoroughbred,
Horses, age of,

" and Oxen, comparative economy of,

" breeds of,

" Food, management of,

" for draught,

" in America,

" training of,

. 273, 27G, 282 321

315, 119, 123, 171, 191, 193

9
8, 14, 29, 37, 40, 46, 70
5, 13, 25, 43, 45, 52, 71
8, 41
11, 20, 22, 40
28, 49, 51, 71
5, 6, 13, 19, 25, 30, 37, 41, 56, 72
5, 10, 12, 24
7, 15, 17, 25, 39, 44, 74, 89, 90
6, 9
10
218, 220, 228
127
109, 110
259, 260
115, 117, 119, 123

135, 137, 138
248, 253, 256

168, 181
243, 245, 247, 250

271

195, 198, 200, 203, 205, 210

167

153, 154, 159, 160, 164

205, 213, 216, 219, 224

154, 155

158, 159, 161, 163, 171

177, 179

187, 189

9, 181, 182, 189, 207, 227

174, 175, 235

172, 175

176, 182

. 196, 198, 200, 202

169

156, 183, 185, 188, 208

205, 207, 213, 220, 224

11

INDEX.

Inoculation for I'leuro-pncumonia,

Lambs, care of, .

" value of early,
Leicester Sheep, formed by Bakewell, .

Meat of Diseased Cattle,

Medical Examiners, appointment of,

" " report of the.

Mule, characteristics of the,
Mutton, comparative loss of in cooking,

" nutritive qualities of,

Pastures, improvement of by Sheep,
Pleuro-pneumonia, contagious, not epidemic,
fatality of the,

" introduction of the, .

" legislation upon the,

" period of incubation of,

" symptoms of,

" treatment of,

Roadster, qualities of the,
Root Crops, report on.

Sheep, breeds of, ...

" crossing of different breeds of,

" diseases of, ...

" injury to from dogs,

" management of, .

" profits of keeping,

" protection of by legislation,

" statistics of,
Shoeing of Horses,

Simonds, Professor, on the Cattle Disease,
Stable, importance of a good.
State Cabinet, notice of the,

The Big Team, ....

Vegetation, diseases of, .

86, 88, 89

127, 128
121, 123
103, 105

85, 80

23, 20

43, 70, 89

238, 240

97

9G, 97, 107

98, 292

8, 14, 29, 37, 40, 80

41, 42, 46, 85

5, G, 13, 25, 30

. • 11, 20, 22, 40

81, 83

8, 47, 48, 49, 71, 83

84, 86

156, 163,
139,

99, 101, 103, 100, 109, 110,
. 109,
129, 131,

. 120, 122, 125,

95, 98, 121, 313,

94, 95,

93, 94,

210, 212,

195,
238,

184
150

111
115
133

94
127
324
121
292
213

41
196
240

. 38, 65, 73
135, 137, 183

ERRATA

IN THE secretary's REPORT.

Page 103, 12th line from top, for " discarded " read — descended.

Page 103, line 10, after " those "' insert— held.

Pape 184, line 19, omit comma after " Island."

Page 188, line 4 of note, after " st;ible "' add — with Sherman Morgan.

Page 198, line 21, for " food " read — feed.

Page 199, line 15, for " ten " read— two.

Page 230, line 37, for " back jumping " read- buck jumping.

Page 233, line 34, after " back " insert— of the shoulder.

Page 235, line 29, after " marks of" insert — the teeth.

Page 274, line 33, for " the society " read— no society.

Page 292, line 22, for "potent" read— patent.

I IN D E X

T 0 T II E A 15 S r R A C T ,

Agricultural Education, .
Agriculture as an Art,
Ayrsliircs as dairy stock,

Barley, cultivation of,
Bee Culture, rejwrt upon,
Broomcorn, cultivation of,

Cabbages, culture of.

Carrots, statements on, .

Contentniei^t, reasons for,

Corn, varieties of.

Corn Fodder, cultivation of,

Covv's, spaying of,

Crops, value of, for feeding.

Dairy, stock for the.
Dissemination of Seeds,
Drains, construction of, .

Experiments with Manures,

Farmer, the Massachusetts,
Farm Stock, qualities of,
Farmers' Clubs, importance of
Farms, reports on.
Forest Trees, succession of,
Fruit Trees, cultivation of,

Garden, influence of the,

Horses, American and Foreign,

Indian Corn, cultivation of.
Irrigation, experiments in,

Jerseys, characteristics of the, .

Mangolds, culture of.
Manures, application of.

Neat Stock, reports on, .

Oaks, succeeding pines,
Oats, the cidtivation of.
Onions, injured by insects.

91

6, 7, 56

1. 3, 5

30, 32, 40, 193

159, IGl, 1G3
229, 234
107, 168

170, 171

175, 177, 178, 184

. 42, 45, 50

135, 136

81

81, 82

188, 190

30, 39, 41
14, 17, 19, 21
. 90, 106, 107

130, 132, 134, 137

42, 44, 46, 47, 53

24, 26, 28, 191

. 83, 84

55, 61, 65, 69, 95

11, 13, 16, 20

91, 92, 121, 123

. 4, 7

32, 34, 199, 202

139, 141, 143, 146
. 85, 80

. 38, 39

169, 176
130, 132, 134, 138

191, 194

. 11, 13, 16

. 67, 164, 166

9

IV

INDEX.

Orchards, ploiiRhing anion;;,

Oxen and Horses, for labor on tlie farm.

Pasture Lands, improvement of.
Pines, the seeds of,
Plougiiing, reports on, .
Potatoes, culture of.
Poultry, management of,

IJeclaimiiig Wet Lands,
Koot Crops, cultivation of,
live, culture of, .

Sciences connected with Agriculture,

Seeds, vitality of.

Sheep, reports on.

Short-horns, etfect of climate on.

Stock of the Farm,

Sugar Beets, culture of,

Swedes, cultivation of, .

Wheat, cultivation of, .

. 91, 121, 124
125, 121]

111, 113, 117

11, 12

125, 127

109, 170

07 221 223 224

58, 85, 95, 101, 103, 105
1G8, 173, 175
158, 159

6, 8, 9
21, 22
204, 200, 210. 215, 220
. 35, 37, 192
. 24, 26, 191
174, 179
173, 182

147. 149 151, 154. 157

4nsa 009

t*!}P

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