mind he will know and realize the importance of his position and calling, and the nature of that calling will afford him continual satisfaction. In connection with it he can notice and study the order and succession of the seasons as they come and go, agreeably to the laws which regulate them. As the long winter draws to a close, and the frost-bound earth begins to feel the warmth of the genial sun, he hears music in the voice of the swollen brooks, the softened winds of spring, and the grateful songs of birds, returned from their winter flight to their summer homes. He watches the opening of leaf and flower and grassy blade, in field and meadow, and studies the beautiful and mysterious laws which govern them. He looks at his flocks and herds as they graze on hill side or lawn, or seek shelter from the noonday sun in some embowering shade, and takes pleasure in noticing their habits and understanding their nature. The germinating seed, the opening bud, the fresh green stocks, the ripened fruit, the full ear, the waving grain, are all watched to their maturity and harvested with the greatest care and interest, and the laws which govern each sought out and studied. His life is spent midst the beauty, harmony, and sublimity of nature, and he can see the certainty of her laws regulating and governing all created things. For him the laws which control the humblest flower by the wayside, the stream that winds through meadow and forest, the bird upon the wing, the cloud that floats above him, every material thing may be full of wisdom and speak of divinity; so that when time, the great reaper, shall come to the harvesting of death, he may bow to his scythe without fear, conscious that he has performed the part assigned him on earth. LIVE STOCK. Horses. Best stallion, Harvey McManus of Brunswick. Best two years old do., John H. Millay of Bowdoinham. Best breeding mare, Joel Curtis of Bowdoinham. Second best, Isaac Wilson of Bowdoinham. Bulls Best two years old, Collamore Mallett of Topsham, for Devon. Best one year old, Thomas Minot of Brunswick, for Devon, bred by I. Wentworth. Nathaniel Snow of Brunswick, for a Jersey, sired by "Czar," from an imported cow. Mr. Snow, in his statement, well remarks: "On the pastures of this county we should not regard beef cattle merely, but bestow more attention to raising cows for milking quali ties." And also that "a Jersey cow now owned by John Foster Williams of Roxbury, Mass., has given milk of which four quarts made a pound of butter." Cows. Best milch cow, premium to John Graves for a grade Durham, which gave 20 quarts per day in June and 12 quarts in September. Second premium, for a Native cow, giving milk all the year, and averaging over 8 quarts per day. Isaac Mallett, premium for Devon cow. L. W. Tedford of Topsham, do. S. F. Dike of Bath, premium for Native cow, of which he says: "The cow dropped her calf January 16th, 1859. Weighed her milk-Feb. 8th, 33 lbs.; Feb. 9th, 34 lbs.; Feb. 10th, 35 lbs.; Feb. 11th, 36 lbs. Continued about one week on the above amount. At the end of week, 32 lbs. for two or three days, till Feb. 21st, when it was 30 lbs. The next week it fell one or two pounds per day, but did not reach so low as 10 quarts per day during the winter. During the spring it was about 16 quarts per day; sometimes a little short. In June it increased again." Mr. Dike also took premium on a Jersey heifer two years old. Messrs. Mallett, Tedford and Jordan took premiums on Devon heifers. Sheep. Best buck, premium to Given Jameson, for a Cotswold, imported from England by Capt. Lombard of Webster. Weight of fleece this year, thirteen pounds. The other bucks receiving premiums are called English breed. For best flock of Sheep, to John Alexander. Swine. Premium for best breeding sow and litter of pigs, to W. B. Trufant of West Bath-Suffolk and Newbury White. Second, to Daniel Fulton, for grade Suffolks. MISCELLANEOUS. Sagadahoc sets her sister societies an example which may be well followed by all those which are situated "along shore," in showing at her exhibitions models of marine architecture, ships, brigs, steamboats, &c; also articles of ships furniture or apparatus, which constitute a very attractive feature of the mechanical department of shows in a State so deeply engaged in ship building as ours. CROPS. Indian Corn. Premium on best field of two acres or more, to Solon White of Bowdoinham, 93 bushels of ears per acre on swale land, underdrained; pastured for three or four years past; green manure plowed in, and compost in hills-also fifty pounds guano per acre, mixed with plaster. Best acre of corn, to Paul Randall of Harpswell, for 147 bushels ears on one acre. Second best, Isaac P. Tebbetts of Topsham, for 106 bushels per acre. Third, to David Brown of Richmond, for 95 bushels per acre. Wheat. First premium to William Alexander of Harpswell, for 23 bushels per acre. Soil redish loam, in corn the year before, which was manured-barn manure mixed with rockweed. Second, to Isaac P. Tebbetts, for 12 bushels Rio Grande wheat, a variety which he states to be well adapted to the climate. Barley. First premium to Rufus Thompson of Topsham, 36 bushels per acre. Second, to Paul Randall, for 33 bushels per acre, two rowed barley, seed from Canada-weighs 56 pounds per bushel. Rye. First premium to William Alexander of Harpswell, for 20 bushels of 63 pounds each, on one acre. Second, to Rufus Thompson, 19 bushels per acre. Potatoes. First premium to William E. Haley, for 200 bushels per acre. Beets. Thomas Pennell of Brunswick, 139 bushels sugar beets, on one-eighth acre. Solon White, 91 bushels Mangolds on 26 square rods. Lewis Simpson, 700 bushels Mangolds on seven-eighths of an acre. Turnips. William E. Haley, 83 bushels on 30 square rods. Carrots. I. M. Sandford of Bowdoinham, 67 bushels carrots on one-eighth of an acre. UNDERDRAINING. Underdraining seems to be practiced to some extent, in this county, as several premiums were awarded; one to S. F. Dike, who states that he is fully convinced of its great advantage in cold wet lands. He has greatly improved his apple trees by draining the soil. N. Perkins of Topsham, made 840 feet drain, but only 2 to 8 feet deep-(3 to 4 is much better ordinarily.) Solon White of Bowdoinham, in a statement regarding his farm operations, says: "Experience has taught me to cultivate no more land than can be properly dressed, and never to work it until it is sufficiently dry. These two points are established in my own mind, but to accomplish the last, has been a difficult thing for me until of late. A portion of the soil on my farm has always been troublesome to cultivate, in consequence of its being very wet and springy, seldom obtaining a good crop on such land, and the grass is always of inferior quality. I have one small field of three acres, the most of which is of this kind of soil, which has been so wet that I finally abandoned the idea of cultivating it, and turned it out to pasture. Last summer I dug an underdrain through it for the purpose of draining my orchard; finding it had so good an effect on the land, I continued my work until I drained the whole field; plowed and planted two acres of what had always been the wettest, with corn, and raised 187 bushels of ears. This is land that no one ever pretended to put corn on before. The effects of underdraining on this piece has been such as not only to encourage me to continue draining, but has created such an interest in the neighborhood, that several of my neighbors have already commenced draining their farms." The drains reported, are mostly of stone, consequently requiring a very large excavation of earth and involve great expense. These are reported as costing 70 cents to over $1 per rod, which is more than many farmers can afford, and more than will (generally) pay, which is the true test of the expediency of draining as well as of plowing or any other agricultural operation. It may pay to drain land peculiarly situated, as near ones dwelling, at a cost of a $100 per acre or more; but where tiles can be procured at fair prices, good drains (better than any stone drains) ought to be made at a cost of not more than 55 cents per rod under ordinary circumstances, and in the average of soils requiring drainage. The attempts of beginners (especially if they use stone, or any thing except tiles) usually cost 50 to 100 per cent. more than when made by skilled workmen. (See J. H. Shedd's paper on excavation of trenches in Report of Secretary for 1858, page 247.) Besides the draining of Mr. Dike already mentioned, he says: "I also drained a piece of grass land three years ago, and the crop has continued to increase every year since, with much less dressing, than it received in previous years. Formerly the grass winter killed; but since the underdraining, I have no trouble of this kind. The cost of underdraining depends very much upon circumstances. My own has cost me more than a dollar per rod. I think draining with tiles is cheaper than stones; but when I purchased my farm, I had a large quantity of stones suitable for drains, and they were very much in the way above ground; but they are now nearly all below the reach of the plow, and I intend to use tiles. I believe the farmer can make no better investment on his farm every year, than a small sum, say $50, or more if he has the means, spent in laying underdrains. Try an experiment in a small way at first." |