Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-10-08
ANNUAL FESTIVALS.

The season Of the year has again come
around when the farmer, having gather
ed in the fruits of his labors, closes the
doors of his we'll filed barns and grainer-
les, and spends day or two at the town
or county fair. The favorable season for
vegetable growth enables him to bring
along for exhibition more inviting and at
tractive displays than during the two pre-
vious years of serious drouth. His bur-
den of hay has nearly doubled; his grain
has yielded one-third more than usual,
and comes out clear and sound, without
much rust OF mildew wheat has been
free from weevil and all destroying pests,
and his family can be supplied with flour
without sending off to the village store;
corn has not been blighted by early frosts,
but has had an almost unprecedented
yield and is we'll filled out, but little ''pig
corn being manifest; apples are so plen-
ty that it is impossible to find sufficient
supply of barrels to hold them; beets,
turnips, pumpkins, squash and other mi
nor products, make the farmer laugh with
ljoy; in fact, the potato crop is the only
one that has been even partial failure.
From all these multiplied supplies of a
kind Providence, the farmer certainly
ought to be able to select something for
the eyes of others to look upon and ad-
mire, as they come up to the annual festi-
val. And then the cows that have come
nightly to the bars Of the old lane, chew
ing their cuds with delightful satisfac-
ton, and waiting to be relieved Of the
precious fluid accumulated during the day;
fat, sleek-looking oxen. worthy of being
matched in the town team, the pride of
the village; plump and gracefully formed
colts, bearing the unmistakable marks of
good blood that is "sure to tell' in the
forthcoming races, and OF embryo family
horses that deserve q premium.
And then the good housewife turns aside
from daily cares and brings along to the
fair the golden butter and rich cheese that
has apparently had no close acquaintance
with SKINNED milk; fine specimens of
needle work, the patient labor of her
hands; light, wholesome and delicious
bread made of wheat "of their own rails
ing;" yarn spun by her own hands: the
patchwork quilt composed of just nine
hundred and ninety-nine pieces; the
braided mat made on rainy days in spring
Of cast-off garments that had done good
service for years; rag carpets Of regular
stripes and Original mixtures Of colors !;
the famous drawn-in rug which is kept
before the open fireplace in the darkened
parlor and shown only to select few.
| And so these annual festivals may be
made refreshing to the body and mind.
They are golden periods in the farmers
life, symbolized by the golden pumpkins
that shine upon the hillside.
The county shows in Maine are gener-
ally creditable to the industry and ingenuity
of those who wrestle with a comparative
ly sterile soil in cold climate, showing
that the growth Of manufacturing and me-
chanical operations does not thrust aside
the farmers occupation, or put it away
among the lost arts. The brain and hand
work of our farmers have made many
primitive deserts bud and blossom as the
rose, and have clothed granite-locked and
forest-covered acres with waving grass.
This persistent labor with unpromising
materials, shows the superiority of mind
over matter and elevates Maine farming
to grand art.
May this large and worthy class of our
fellow citizens, upon whom we are all so
dependent, rejoice in their bountiful har
vests, and be able to spend the time Of
their annual festivals pleasantly and profit
ably.
SPEAKER BLAINE Nv ONO