The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1885-02-07
A YANKEE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY,
Some Fun up In Connecticut-Lessons
that Our Own County Society
Would do Well to Learn.


The State Agricultural Society of Connecticut
held its annual meeting at Hartford on the 3Oth
ult correspondent of the NJ Y. Suu q.
hundred hard headed and hard listed men" were
present, with Hon. Jas. A. Bill, the president, in
the chair. The correspondent then continues:
"Mr. Bill makes money out of the soil in Con.
necticut by shrewd management Beginning in
the early fall, he starts his menagere of all kinds
of stock of the finest varieties, and makes the
tour of the county and State fairs, raking in
scores of cash prizes and selling his stock at fancy
prices as he goes. The slower farmers have beer
admring his stock and letting him do this sort Of
thing for the past twenty years, and they will
probably continue to let him do it for twenty
years longer. 1t occasions surprise, therefore,
that Mr.. Bill has been President of the society,
as a member put it, "ever sense his twelve year
old line back Durham bull Nero yerlin'."
"The members had tabled the knotty question
as to what causes some COWS to have five teats
when the great problem ofthe day, concerning
the changing of the annual State fair from
Meriden to Charter Oak Park, Hartford, was
taken up. Then the fur began to fly. Sober,
gray bearded, and bald headed men, who never
swear or get excited, except when breaking steers
or building stone walls, completely lost their
heads, and spirited debate, by no means con-
fined to the subject but "rnnin' allover ten acre
lot" as one expressed it, ensued.
"Mr. Porter Clough, of Meriden, was one of
Hartfords bitterest opponents. He said "What
is Hartford, anyhow? Nothing but a graveyard.
She died long ago, and her people now are walk
ing about in their shrouds to save their funeral
expenses What did Hartford do with the fair be-
fore? She was so dead that she let it die out it
self, and the members had to go down in their
pockets to get themselves home from the city. 1t
was SO in Norwich-it was so in Danbury.-
Meriden has made success of the thing Nov
let Meriden reap what benefit there is in it."
"Mr. Henry Farnam, of Hartford, bonylook-
ing man, arose with glazing eye at this, and
fairly howed
"Mr. Chairman, deny the foul Islander of the
gentleman from Meriden. Why did the fair prove
a success in Meriden and failure in Hartford
Because they allowed horse trotting at the foTaef
place."
'Horse trotting is the society's vulnerable point
Under its strictly moral charter it cannot allow
trotting at its fairs. The older members WINGED
"Now, gentlemen" Mr.. Farnam went on, az
know something about cattle and something
about three minute horse fesh and can tell you
that if you want to mako money at your fairs and
draw the crowd you have got to have something
rayther livelier than fifteen minute race to OK
carts. We are living in an age of progress, Mr..
Chairman-aye progress-and you cannot keep
her still Applause from the younger members
black and angry chances from the older ones.
Now, happen to know that when the fairs were
held here of the good old deacons, at the
head of the society, positively refused to have a
horse moved out of walk inside the grounds.
An yet he's now carping over Hartfords being
dead. As soon as he gets to Meriden he adver
tises for fast horses, an I'll bet you hundred'n
a quarter that every dollar of profit that's come
out of the fair since has been made off'n the
horse trots. And if we're gon' to have horse
trots let's have 'em the best course in the
United States, the Charter Oak"
"There was much subdued murmurng at this,
and the young men looked triumphantly at Deacon
Hiram Pichett of Pennington, while the old men
looked imploringly. Deacon Hiram is a church
member. He was in tight box, and he knew it.
He took off his red yarn comforter laid his fur
cap on the table, rubbed the few white hairs on
his head, in deep contemplation, cleared the fog
from his throat, and said rather confusedly:
Gentlemen, it is true we had horse races 1T
Meriden. 1t is true they make more money than
corn or potatoes, or squashes or pumpkins But
I don't approve of horse racing, though. Be it
far from me. An the ciety don't, nuther But
we had to do it. When we moved to Meriden, it
was voted to put the President and clerks on
salaries, and the directors were put under bonds
to pay their salaries. Consistently, we had either
got to make the fair poy EN-, or pay 'em ourselves.
We chose the former, an with the success you
have heard And will say, right here, gentle
men, before 1 set down, that boss racing will pay
if you'll keep in mind one thing-there amt no
NOR in oil