Pictou Agricultural Society by John D MacDonald
One of the earliest agricultural societies in the rural districts of the province of Nova Scotia was organized on the first day of January 1817 – one hundred and eight years ago, at Durham, near the town of Pictou. At its inception it was called the “West River Farming Society” but two years later changed its name to “The Pictou Agricultural Society” (for a few years prior to 1837 activities were waning and in this year reorganization took place with the Town of Pictou as the official centre of the organization) and as such it has since been known. The organization started with a membership of twenty-six, confined to “farmers and freeholders of good moral character”. That this latter qualification was an essential one may be inferred from the fact that the promotors emphasized it by announcing in the rules and regulations that “if any member shall curse or swear or use any indecent language or introduce in meeting any subject inconsistent with the business of the society, he shall be fined by the President and a majority of the members present in a sum not exceeding five shillings.” Meetings were held quarterly at which topics connected with rural economy were discussed and great impetus was give to the cause of agriculture throughout the county, similar societies having been formed in other districts as the years went by.
In the year following the meeting for organization – the fall of 1818 – the first ploughing match ever held in Nova Scotia was conducted under the auspices of this society at Pictou on the farm of Edward Mortimer. Now the Odd Fellows Home property. Who knows but that it was due to the interest thereby aroused in the town, the only trading centre of that day, in the work of the society that its name was changed? It would seem as though this had been the case; the promoters welcoming the assistance and co-operative effort between the Durham folk and the townspeople was well maintained for upwards of ninety years thereafter, until societies had so multiplied that Durham felt the need of an organization peculiarly its own, although the good folks in that section still loyally support the efforts of the Pictou society at exhibition seasons.
In addition to the regular meetings held for discussion of problems confronting them, these pioneer men imported seeds, agricultural implements and Ayrshire cattle. They held cattle shows and encouraged competitions for the best care of various kinds of grain. Another form of competition was designed to encourage the clearing of land, and prizes were offered “to the person who should stump and plough fit for crop the greatest quantity of land never ploughed before; not more than three stumps per acre left on the land and all stones that materially obstruct the operation of ploughing and harrowing to be removed, the quantity to be not less than two acres”. The present day tendency on the part of people in all walks of life to look to governments, federal, provincial or civic, for leadership and financial aid in movements for the common good of communities, had no placed in the thoughts of these progressive pioneers. They wanted to co-operate with the authorities; to lead the latter if need be. The late Rev. George Patterson, D.D., the historian of the County of Pictou has made the further interesting statement that in 1824 this society offered £7 10s “in addition to the legislative grant”, for a flax mill, and such a mill was promptly erected at West River, near Durham, by one of their members, who received a prize for it as the first of the kind erected in Nova Scotia.
This hasty backward glance at the early history of the Pictou Agricultural Society, with its praiseworthy record of “first things in Nova Scotia”, will be sufficient to convince the reader that its charter members, Scotsmen all, lowlanders and highlanders, were intelligent, thrifty men; men of vision, industrious and self-reliant. They built perhaps better than they knew, for the Pictou Agricultural Society is still a live organization, perpetuating the principles of its founders and carrying out their policy of doing all it can to educated and encourage the basic industry of the country. In point of membership it is one of the largest societies in the province and has an exhibition plant excelled by one other.
Minute books of the Society are now in my possession. They would tell much the same story as is found in the one covering the period from 1861 to 1881. It is a story of continuous public spirit on the part of the officials. Meetings were frequently held at Pictou or Durham. Exhibitions too were held with surprising regularity at one or the other of these centres. They had no regular meeting place for such “shows”, small though these were in comparison with present day efforts. The exhibition opened at sunrise and closed with sunset, and if an occasional year found them unable to get together sufficiently early in the autumn to permit livestock being shown, the livestock enthusiasts would have to wait for the following year. One such occasions the exhibition would consist of dressed meats and poultry, grains, flour and meal, butter, cheese and home-made woolen wear. Frequent references are found in the records to importations of pure-breed cattle and horses for breeding purposes, and seeds of various kinds. It was a the close of this period that the society discussed at length what ought to be done to stamp out “the detestable Colorado Beetle”, which we are sorry to say is still with us, as the “potato bug”. It is to the credit of the men of that day that they spread far and wide by newspaper and printed leaflet all the information they could obtain regarding this unwelcome visitor with full directions as to how it ought to be attacked with Paris Green, and they called on stores throughout the county to co operated with them by having the poison on hand for onslaught.
In the late seventies, the exhibitions had assumed considerable proportions and were always held at Pictou. For some years and old “drill-shed” housed the exhibits, save for the livestock which was shown round about the building in the open. Later on, the skating rink was utilized and cattle sheds were built on grounds adjoining. Such is the writer’s recollection of this period, when his father was secretary of the society, a post he vacated in 1882, after almost twenty years continuous service. He was followed by David Logan, then in the prime of his young manhood, full of energy and enthusiasm. To Mr. Logan’s painstaking effort for thirty six years, the present standing of the society is largely due. Many readers throughout the Maritime provinces will regard this as a simple statement of fact. He blazed many a trail for other agricultural workers in Nova Scotia. At home, he would not be happy until he had secured permanent exhibition grounds and buildings and these he induced his directorate to secure in 1891, when the main building which is still in use as an exhibition building was erected, and opened for what proved to be an excellent show. This forward movement in Pictou attracted the attention of agriculturists in other counties and in 1893 a United Counties Exhibition, a four days show, was held under the auspices of the Pictou society, open to the counties of Antigonish, Colchester, Cumberland and Pictou. Another gentleman, still with us, who did good work for the Society throughout the years just referred to, is Daniel Sutherland, who was their efficient treasurer for twenty years, from 1875 to 1895, and gave the Secretary untiring support in the effort to secure exhibition grounds.
Space will not permit reference at length to the progress of the Society as the years sped on. Permanent exhibition grounds proved a great boon, and successful exhibitions were held almost yearly thereafter until 1913. Marked improvement was noticeable in the live stock shown from year to year and in the number of exhibits in the pure-bred classes. Then came the war. The cry to the farmer for increased production suggested that the exhibition be discontinued and for five years no show was held. Lack of use and resultant inattention played havoc with the lighter structures on the grounds and at the close of the war there was some division of opinion as to renewal of effort for an exhibition in 1919. Mr. Logan had justly earned retirement and could not be prevailed upon to again take up the task of reorganizing and rebuilding, altho cheerfully willing to do what he could to assist. His resignation was, therefore, regretfully accepted in the autumn of 1918 and “a new generation”, bent on re-establishment, induced the writer to take his place.
The intervening years have fully justified the predictions of the men who pressed for revival of the Exhibition. The “community spirit” has been fine. Expenditures of about $2000 in the summer of 1919, with gratuitous effort on the part of members who assisted in the actual work of repairing or building anew, enabled the directors to put on a fine show. Such in brief has been the story every year since that time. Upwards of $15000 has been expended in the past 15 years on new buildings and repairs, on drainage, roadways, lighting, and equipment of one kind or another. The auto has been a great help in all this, ensuring an attendance that has averaged about 5000 per year, giving gate receipts equivalent to the prize payments of about $2500 annually. Prize-list advertising, cash prizes donations, entry fees, grants from County ($250) and Province ($500), concessions, dining-room, and space sold make up other sources of revenue, amounting in all to approximately $4000. The plant now consists of the main building, in first class shape, a stallion barn, barns for one hundred horses, one hundred and seventy five head of cattle, shed-pens for sheep, modern type pens with driveway and judging space for swine, poultry house, dance hall, dining room, rest house for live stock attendants, secretary’s office and ticket sale stand; a group of some fifteen buildings, all well finished and equipped. They could not be replaced for $15,000.00. In addition, Athletic grounds adjoining the exhibition site are by lease available for use on exhibition days, affording parking space for autos and the use of a large grand-stand before which the horse-drawing contests are conducted. These are a feature of the show each year and prove a great “drawing card”.
The size of the show can be inferred from the foregoing description of the plant, which is always taxed to its capacity. As to the character of the exhibits a word or two may be of interest. The day of the horse of the lighter type seems to be passing. While a few standard-bred are still shown and some roadsters and carriage horses, the heavy draft type is most noticeable. The Clydesdales lead in number of pure-breds; a few Percherons are shown, but the well filled classes are made up of general purpose and agricultural horses, among which many nice ones are always found. The cattle exhibit is always good. Ayrshires are in the majority, many of them fit for a show in any company. “I have been interested in cattle for fifty years and have attended many exhibitions in that time”, said a prominent agriculturist from a neighboring county last year, “and I’ve never seen a finer lot of three-year old Ayrshires than I saw in the ring at Pictou today”. Guernseys are a close second in point of numbers and here too many animals of exceptional merit are shown. Widely, known Pictou county exhibitors who occasionally bring prize ribbons from Toronto are exhibitors in this class. The Jersey has admirers in Pictou County, too, and recent importations of some choice young animals by members of the Jersey Cattle Club will ere long put this breed in a much better third position in point of numbers. The exhibit of sheep is never very large, averaging only about fifty head, reflecting the regrettable decline so noticeable throughout the country in this branch of live stock, not with standing prevailing high prices for lamb and mutton, and a market always open. Swine too, have not been shown in any large number until last year, when as a result of the formation of two Boys’ and Girls’ Swine Clubs at Carriboo and Scotsburn, sixty head of bacon hogs were shown, in addition to animals in other sections. These young hogs were taken from the exhibition pens to make a carload lot (on foot) for which a good price was obtained in the Montreal market. Such Clubs now being formed throughout the province and the erection of an abattoir and packing house at Moncton, give promise of increased production for a more stable market than farmers have hitherto had, and in this satisfactory condition of affairs the farmers of Pictou County will share. The poultry exhibit has always been a fairly large one but the tendency to diversity in breeds has been far to evident for a rural district show. The society has decided to encourage “utility” breeds, the Barred Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, White Wyandotte and White Leghorn and gives preference to these in its prize-money offerings. Within the main building the dairy exhibit is shown in neat glass-covered cases. Pictou County with its two well-known creameries has an enviable record for the production of good butter, but a lot of excellent butter is made outside the creameries and competition in this class is always keen. The fruit exhibit is usually a large one, apples particularly. Competent judges say that apples of the finest quality can be grown in Pictou County as well as in the Annapolis Valley. Co-operative methods for marketing would soon put Pictou County on the map as an apple exporting section. The display of field seeds, roots and vegetables is always a very fine one. Other departments, for the women folk, are home-cooking, canning and pickles; useful work, such as spinning, weaving, knitting and mat making; and the fancy-work department, where great interest centres in all forms of needlework. There is also a department exclusively for school children, where exhibits from home and school gardens are shown and essays, penmanship, map-drawing and such samples of school work are in competition. And finally there is an art department for oil and water color paintings and hand decorated china by amateurs. Pictou is not a central location within the county, situated as it is on the north shore thereof and separated from the major portion of the farming districts by the harbour and its tributary rivers. This militates against much greater growth of its exhibition. The day has passed for long distance travel on foot with exhibition stock, and freight rates – our greatest handicap – are almost prohibitive. Hence we have our limitations. Yet within its somewhat narrow sphere the society is doing good work and the exhibition is a great educator for the man or woman who is anxious to excel in those lines of effort illustrated by its exhibits.
