Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-01-27
s!lc .L-arnler.

s,a.a.a aai Soil Of Orleans County, VT,
Though you have considerable uumber
readers in this county, perceive there
!, not large number of writers Ter your
i4ges. Having resided in this county nearly
senty years, and having during that peri
j. been several years engaged in the geolog-
nj survey of the State. | have had better
d. pportunity to compare the soil in this with
her portions of New England, and especial
:, other portions Of Vernon than, perhaps,
~ other person. / thik it is of some inl-
rtance, that the readers Of the Farmer
,Ould be made acquainted with some facts
regard to our climate and soil, of which
ANY are probably ignorant.
This entire county lies north of iorty.four
grees Of latitude, but we are not on that
, ;couul so "buried up in the snow" as the
tizens of Massachusetts, and southern New
ngland might suppose 1t is, Indeed,
cry rare thing, that we are incommoded
it'll snow or drifts, so as to impede travel or
revent business during the winter. Frosts
ave been later, usually, in autumn than they
ave in Worcester county. You mention
lost that injured cranberries, &C., last fall,
= month earlier. near Boston, than we had in
dis county. Tomatoes were green in my
arden, both last year and the year before,
ii about the first of October. This is not
ncemmon.
The soilsof large portion of Orleans and
caledonia couatles is made by the decompo-
ition of the cacareous mica states which
'onstitute the rock in place. These states
re an disqualification Of clay-slato, lime.
late and horn.blend. The rock is very fri
BILE, and decomposes SO rapidly that there is
deep soil now. where the lodges appeared
Ii the surface twenty years ago, The lime,
lay, slick and mica are so we'll mixed that
hey furnish in great abundance the elements
equired by vegetation, especially wheat bar
ey, grass, corn AMI cats, Should the soil
yer deteriorate, we have immense quantities
f the richest variety sphagnour MUCK, much
# which lies above shell mari, i'll the beds
If ancient ponds and beaver meadows. This
narl when converted to lime and mixed with
he muck, makes manure worth from tif-
icen to twenty per cent. more than COW dung.
l. have taken pains to survey most OF the
muck beds in our town, and ascertained that
there were more than 730 cords for every
acre of land III the town. Many other
towns are equally we'll supplied. This will,
in future ages, therefore, be a rich farming
territory, when the "German Flats" and
Western prairies have become impoverished.
There are found few resources for supplying
what is transported from those regions by the
export of wheat, beef, pork, &c. There is Il
constant drain Of the richest elements of the
soil which in time must produce the same eff
feet now experienced in Virginia and some
portions of New England In this portion
Of Vermont are resources adequate to pre-
vent any impoverishing Of the soil for scores
of centuries.
IT you foot up the number of cattle and
sheep from Vermont, taken to Brighton and
Cambridge. as reported in the Farmer, for
the year, you will find that the little State of
Vermont furnishes more at those markets
than all the rest OF New England This, to
many, has been surprising The question is
often asked, How is it possible?" Perhaps
few facts obtained from the president of
the County Agricultural Society, a few years
since, may aid i'll answering that question,
and also show the productiveness of our soil.
Il have in grass thirty-ive acres, from
which | wintered last winter four large oxen,
ten cows, and two-year Odds, two horses,
three colts, one, two and three year oldS and
twelve sheep, and sold two or three tons Of
hay. raised 800 bushels Of oats, 125
bushels of corn, and eighteen bushels Of
wheat The stock was fully equa to forty
cows The amount of straw, &C.. fed out
was only what is common on farm of 100
acres. s. r. HALL.
Bloomington, VT, 1859.