Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-04-01
Agricultural.
Seventh Agricultural Meeting
At the State House, March 2.


The subject under consideration on Tuesday
evening, March 2, was, The Profits Of Farm
ing
Mr. Sheldon of Wilmington, said that some
people denied that there was any profit in farm
ing. He believed otherwise; that there was no
business which gave a better profit than farming,
if Systematically carried on. One evidence to
his mind of this, the fact that nine out of ten
farmers, without any system, contrlved to get
along. In a country town, if mechanic failed
he was sure to owe the farmer and yet with all
his losses, the farmer contriyed to live. Many
men get along without labor they got their liv-
ing out of somebody, and that somebody was the
farmer And still the farmer lived and this too,
for the most part, without any system. There
was no other business that would give a man a
living with so little system as most farmers had
in their business Men of capital often failed
in their farming operations. But why; Be-
cause they larmed to suit their taste and fancy,
and not for dollars and cents If a man would
make farming profitable, he must not spend
money in digging trenches four feet deep, and
putting up such stone wall as they sometimes
heard about A man might easily spend more
money in fencing his farm than the farm itself
was worth. Fifty cents rod for stone wall was
as much as farmer could afford to pay, if he
would make farming profitable. He must not
be very particular about the looks of his wall
either If it answered his purpose, it was not
so important if it was not SO straight and nice as
some would have it.
There were other and more economical ways
of fencing some kinds of land than by building
stone wall fence of pitch pine trees might
be raised from the seed on some lands that were
fit for nothing else and birch seed might be
sown for the same purpose on other kinds of land
Let young man, Just starting, clear up and
plough and plant and set out apple trees, and in
ten years each of his trees would be worth more
than ten dollars piece. Men were in too much
of hurry they could not wait for the profits Of
farming.
Mr. D. w. Lincoln of Worcester, did not agree
with Mr. Sheldon in the views expressed, respect
ing the proofs of farming. He doubted if farm
ing would afford anything more than comforta-
BILE living. As for the profit in dollars and cents
he doubted if and business paid so poorly as
farming. He believed that day laborer, who
should let himself to farmer, would make more
money than the farmer who hired him; and
would, in ten years timc be almost able to buy
out the farmer for whom he had been laboring
with the very wages paid to him! 1t was the
common error of agricultural writer's to exagger-
ate. He often heard of raising one hundred
bushels of corn on an acre. He would not say
that this could not be done; but he would glad
y 90 one hundred miles to see it. The same
extravaganza was common in speaking of other
crops. 1t was too much of it guess work
d. g H.. Al, a. IL.
must be profit in farming. He had succeeded
in bringing up family of eight children on the
profits of half of his fathers farm, He believed
that there was fair profit to be made by raising
corn at IS cents bushe, even if you paid $Ia
or SIS month for labor. He had got 80 bush
els from one acre, and could cultivate it for about
$40 an acre Could a man live as comfortably
on the income of $4,000 as he could on farm
worth that money! He did not believe it posi-
ble He was sorry such opinions prevailed re-
specting farming as had been expressed
Mr. Denny of the Senate, could not concur with
the gentleman from Worcester in the opinion
that all the farmer could get was a mere living
Take two thousand young men let one half OF
them become farmers, and let the other half de-
vote themselves to merchandise, and in twenty
years, he believed that it would be found that
the farmers had made the most money.
! Lieut.. Gov, Reed remarked on the great
changes which had taken place since he was a
boy. The young men from the country were
now crowdng into the city: some of these got
rich, and that rendered others who knew them in
the country, uneasy, But, suppose 100 out Of
a 1000 did get rich-richer than the entire 90C
others; was there as much happiness in that
community as there would have been had they
all remained in the country and cultivated the
soil! 1t was the disposition of the times-and
a very bad disposition it was-not only to get
rich, but to make haste to be rich. Farming was
not the business to 90 into to get rich on but il
happiness was an object, there was no business
so we'll adapted to promote this as farming
Taste could not be much gratlfed by common
farmers. They must be contented with good
living profit, They must learn to be contented
with food and raiment. The increase of manu-.
factories was greatly helping the farmer, furnish
ing a ready market for his produce.
Mr.. Shepard, of the Senate, was deeply i'm.
pressed with the conviction, that if farming was
not profitable it was for the want of economy in
labor. If labor was as much misapplied in any
other kind of business as it was in farming, i
would be the ruin of men. Could he put him
self back 90 years, with his experience, he woult
take the farm in preference to any other work
The same subject is to be discussed at the
next meeting" The Profits of Farming."-
i Traveller.