The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-11-03
farm and Garaem.
For the Central Presbyterian.
Fair of the State Agricultural Society
of Pennsylvania.


Some few other things seen at the
above exhibition we will call attention to.
The premium first and second) Clydes-
dale stations were very fine They
were animals (both bay) of great power,
with tremendous muscle, compact bodies,
short legs, in comparison with Perche-
rons and other breeds, and large bone.
Their large fetlocks are conspicuous, and
are said to strengthen the joint and pre-
vent any disposition to step on the toe in
travelling, and probably tend to keep
the ankles warm when subjected to snow
and cold water These horses, though
one would not think so to look at them,
are said to have fast walk and trot.
AS plough horses, on heavy lands, they
are very valuable. A pair of Clydes-
dales, at ploughing match held at Ver-
sailles, during the first of the Interna-
tional Exhibition held at Paris, took the
premium over three horses of the best
French breeds, Percheron, Boulounais,
&c. At our Virginia State Fair, Colonel
Palmer, President of the Society, has a
very fine Clydesdale stallion. We advise
our farmers, who need heavy plough
horses for red lands and heavy draught
horses, to breed from the Clydesdale.
They are also very valuable for dray
work In the cities, for moving loads Of
iron about factories and furnaces for
work about stone quarries, unloading
vessels, &c. They gave steady, pro-
longed, patient, powerful pull. We are
not prepared to say they are more valu-
able than the Percheron, but for power
and endurance and toughness of consti-
tuition. we doubt whether they can be
excelled, and probably not equalled. They
are said to have been originated by cross
ing the draught mares of Scotland with
some Dutch stations.
We omitted to say that while the
Rochester Chilled Plow is very popular
with the Pennsylvania farmers the Syra-
cuse Chilled Plow carried off the first
premium, a silver medal The beam
clevis, jointer standard and wheel stand
ard are of steel, while the mould board is
a composition of steel and iron, chilled
by new process, for which patent has
been obtained.
The t'1ett display was very fne-of
apples, grapes and pears particularly.
The apples could not be surpassed. This
is the hitting year for the fruit at the
North, and we shall get it at moderate
price, which is fortunate for us, as this is
not the hitting year in Virginia
The floral exhibition was very large,
and the designs were novel and on a
large scale. A rustic mantle, tastefully
decorated with evergreens and all the
flowers OF the season a swinging cradle
OF natural size, enveloped with roses, tube
roses, evergreens, &c., with carpet of
flowers beneath it; throne for Flora,
the goddess of flowers, very finely gotten
up; figures of dogs and sheep, entirely
covered with tube roses, presenting at a
distance the appearance of wool, with
numerous other designs.
The display of vegetables was large,
and the vegetables of the finest descrip-
ton. We noticed one pumpkin with a
green exterior weighing $50 pounds, and
a yellow one 100 pounds. The water
melons, principally Black Spanish, Gyp-
sey, or Rattlesnake, and Sweet-water,
were fine specimens, one Black Spanish
weighing 694 pounds.
We noticed in the Carriage depart
ment an improvement, as we thought. in
the model of carriages; the front is a
lOlSI Cue SedI DelnP a Seml-clrClo,
which makes the body more compact,
and the whole body is much less cum.
brous and heavy than formerly, while
the runningrgear has not been diminished
in strength and size of the iron and wood
composing it.
Work for the Month.
The farmers must now finish seeding
wheat if not done as it should be, gather
in their corn, tighten up their stables to
make their stock comfortable, cut down
fire wood that it may dry some (for dry
wood, while adding much to comfort, is
more economical than green, if we expect
to have good fires, for it takes less fuel),
and prepare generally for winter. At
the same time the plough should be kept
running in all good weather, preparing
for the corn and tobacco crops. 1t is not
too late to SOW rye for late soiling, or for
the grain and straw T. P.