Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1859-08-26

on the agricultural resources Of the State to
the Brooklyn N. " Daily Times, from which
we copy.
THE AGRICULTURE OF VERMONT.
MoNrpELIrR, VI. July %, 1859.
was to say word on Vermont farming.
This is as yet, essentially a farming State,
and will doubtless so continue until the COM
mercial capital Of the seaboard shall appro-
pirate to manufacturing purposes the almost
unlimited water power available in nearly
every town in the State. The numerous rail-
roads which traverse the State in nearly every
county will, no doubt in due time, locate
manufacturing capital here for these roads
are fixed fact for all time to come, however
they may now be in the hands Of receivers,
and managed by bankrupt corporations.
set down Vermont as a farming State, as
devoted to the higher departments Of agiicul-
ture and tilage, and not merely to stock
raising and grazing. Though these latter
pursuits add immensely to her wealth and
resources yet the character Of her people,
and their pursuits have scarcely anything in
common with communities of mere Shepherds
as found in other countries The essential
wealth Of a State is not in her cattle, herds
and Aocks. but in the virgin soil of her forest
clad mountains and hills, and in the improved
culture of farms on the aluvial "Jotoms'
along the borders Of her rivers and streams,
and on the rolling and table lands that ap-
pear as rests in the ascent Of her hills and
mountains, and in the exhuberant vegetation
Of grass and grains that cling to the steep
activities, indicating the inherent power Of
the soil to retain its vitality, as against the
washing of storms, the heat of summer or
the winds Of autumn, while her ever green
forest-clad hills indicate the power Of her
soil to sustain in perpetuity the beauties Of
vegetable life
These Vermonters then, are not pack Of
lazy, ignorant shepherds, such as the old pas
toral poets used to dream Of but a community
Of intelligent and thriving farmers. They
raise stock, it is true. as the census Of 1850
shows their stock then to have been Of the
value Of Sl2,6l0.2fS, being one-fourth more
than the value of the stock Of any other Of
the States Of New England. They then had
I liGl46 milch cows. 10, 497 working oxen,
aud l5f,025 other cattle, and 9l9,992 sheep,
and 81 ,J57 horses in all these particulars.
except as TO the working oxen, taking the
lead of any other New England State. as
well in the number as in the quality Of their
stock, producing 1871 ,45l pounds Of butter,
to 9.243,Sll pounds produced by the State
Of Maine, the next highest and about s,000,-
600 pounds by Massachusetts,.
In the article of cheese Vermont produced
s.729, 1874 pounds to about 1000, 900 produc-
ed in Massachusetts. standing next. The
wool crop Of Vermont was 3, 3,4lO,99 pounds,
little less than that of all the rest of New
England Yet these figures show something
beyond mere gazing country, and stock
raising as the chief pursuit of the people,
Butter and cheese, though produced from the
dairy. require science and skill and hard la
Dor, in their production, equal to any other
agricultural commodity. But will pursue
these statistics further, and show that Yer
mont, aside from its farm stock and dairy, is
essentially an agricultural State,
Vermont had in 1850 more acres Of i'm
proved land than any other Of the New Eng
land States In the valuation Of such lands
they were bought and sold at about half the
price per acre of such lands in Massachusetts
and Connecticut; her farms being estimated
at about sixty million dollars, while Massa-
chusetts FIRMS were worth one hundred and
nine millions. and those of Connecticut about
seventy three millions. Vermont has 81,
100, ,237 invested in agricultural implements,
nearly twice the amount Of such investments
in Connecticut, and four times that Of Rhode
Island, and exceeding such investments either
in New Hampshire or Maine, by about half
million Of dollars, while these outlays in
Massachusetts exceeded Vermont by about a
half million Of dollars. In grains and veg
etablcs. the products Of Vermont appear 20
have exceeded in the aggregate any other of
the New England States. yielding, however,
in Indian corn to Massachusetts,, by about
one-tenth Of her own crop, or say 100000
bushels exceeding Connecticut, New Hamp-
shire and Maine in about the same proper
ton. and being the fourth State only in the
production Of rye; Vermont producing but
/ i76 900 bushels to Connecticut 60OS93, and
Massachusetts 48l 900, and New Hampshire
1917 bushels. while of wheat Vermont
produced 5,I72.925 bushels. or nearly as
much as all the rest of New England to-
gether. She produced 2,3O7,7l4 bushels Of
oats, being 100 600 more than the product
of Maine, and nearly as much as Massachu-
setts and Connecticut together. In peas and
beans, Vermont produced nearly as much as
all the rest Of New England, leaving out the
State of Maine, while these crops in Maine
are twice as much as those of Vermont
l0l $50 bushels the product of Vermont,
and 205.5 bushels the product of Maine.
Barley is an inconsiderable crop in Vermont,
being only 42.157 bushels to Isl .73l bushels
in Mainc, 7O,256 bushels in New Hampshire,
ll2.385 bushels in Massachusetts, to 10000
bushels each produced by Connecticut and
Rhode Island. But in buckwheat, the crop
in Vermont POS. 900 bushels, is only exceed
cd BY that Of Connecticut. the latter produc-
ing 22D. 297 bushels, and the other three
States of New England together about the
: same amount Vermont took the lead in the
potato crop, her product being 4'94135l
bushels; the crop Of New Hampshire coming
next at 4, 4,30i,9l9 bushels, while the crop IN
, Massachusetts, and Maine amounted in each
TO about 10 millions bushels
Vermont took the lead in the production
of fax and flax seed, while in maple sugar
her annual product of about 6, 100000 pounds
is nearly three times the product Of all the
rest of New England togcther while the
product of the great State of New York was
but l0,357,4sf pounds, and that Of Ohio bni
I 4, ,5SS, ,209 pounds.
My prolminaries as to the rank Of Yer
4 mont as an agricultural State have extended
Z this communication so as to leave little room
d for those practical suggestions which it was
n my special object to make. The fault o
" ,tuua1lx baon D.,