Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1863-10-01
Local and state Items.
Agricultural Meeting.

do it, yesterday
After Mr.. Smith of Dandy had spoken,
the president called upon "a gentleman OF
the legal profession" Mr.. Evarts OF
Rutland who remarked that seemed like
cruelty 10 animals to require him to make
speech in such u meeting. Furthermore
he did not consider that he had any right
TO speak, for he had never done enough IN
an agricultural way to entitle him TO a
voice in meeting Of practical farmers
He said he would be a farmer if he only
had good farm.
He remarked upon the careless and
slovenlv manner in which many farmers,
even in Rutland County, manage about
their manure. He had seen cones of ma
nure in rows by the side of barns, suiil-
cient, if properly composted, to enrich
| thirty acres of land,
With regard to fertilzng substances,
he had been led to conclude from some eX-
perimeuts that potash was the great ele
ment of fertility. He had not much faith
in the superphosphates, nor any other
phates-at any rate they had been adverse
| fgtes TO him. In the treatment OF some
ruit trees he had in cultivated ground, he
had tried row with the superphosphate,
another with lime, and third with ashes.
An Irshman in his employ had planted
| the ground with beans and potatoes, and
| while he could see no difference in the
growth of weeds where the superphosphate
was scattered the effect Of the ashes was
so manifest that the Irishman thought he
must sue for damages as the weeds had
overgrown all his beans. Mr.. E. dwelt
mainly, however, upon the cultivation OF
fruit, and particularly apples and grapes.
He said it was difficult to get barrel of
cider bat we wanted cider for vinegar,
The vile stuff that people called vinegar,
he did not know how or when it was made
and did not wish to. Every farmer owed
it to himself and posterity to set out ap-
pie trees. There was no reason why ev
cry one should not also have few grape
vines. Grapes can be ripened in this eli
mate, and by proper management can be
kept fresh and good for seeeral months
He knew of no better kinds for this eli
mate than the Hartford Prolific" and the
"Delaware : the latter of which he de-
clared to be of such delicious sweetness
that good taste of them was enough to
convert very wicked man into good
christian.
1t seemed strange to him that farmers
would work hard over tract of poor
land for years to get it into condition to
yield few dollars profit, when few grape
vines, if properly tended, would yield
more. Good grapes are worth twenty cents
pound, and one vine will yield
twenty pounds.
The President, Mr.. Ketchum of Sud
bury, being called upon, made few re-
marks but as there was considerable
mocing at the time, we failed to hear him
} perfectly. We understood him to say
| that he had not been out of apples Tor
3 twenty years, that he had sometimes KEEP
apples in good condition for two or three
years and that at the Fair then IN prog
a ress (where he had 179 varieties of ap
/, pies on exhibition) he had last years ap
pies which the best of judges could no
distinguish from the present years fruit
: We will not, however, attempt turthe
Q to report his remarks in reference to hi
= method of preserving fruit from the effect
of atmospheric changes, the best varleue
of apples, pears and grapes, or the hes
" mode of treatment for grape vines am
pear trees. We would simply suggest
? him that an article for the HERALD, cor
IS tanning the substance of his remarks {
70 the meeting over which he presided, woul
be very acceptable to our readers.
We left the meeting at the close of h
r. remarks; but we understand that yer
at spirited and interesting discussions wer
w kept up to late hour.
le The Troy Wing of September IS
SAYS that one of those noble family gat
90 erings, for which New England is famou
- took place at Pawlet, VT, on Friday las
n 1t was the occasion Of the "golden we
H. ding" of Fitch Clark, three of whose so
nr reside in that city, and is a cousin of Fit
Clark, formerly of the abbey" I'll
IL generations were represented, one of t
II. sons coming from his residence in Wi
n consln, to participate in the festival. On
was absent fIom the fact that he was he
!" as a iuryman IN OswegO county. Amor
the guests was Rachel, the veneratt
at mother of the "groom," who was broug
90 by the latter and one Of his sons IN cha
" from her home in the neighborhood
as take her place of honor in the celebrate
ed and enjoy the unusual spectacle of fam
az ly assembly embracing four generations
- her descendants. If at her extreme o
Tic age of ninety~slx her mental energies e
abled full comprehension of the seen
he strange thoughts must have fitted aero
~ her mind. The memories of youth
:" davs-of tolls and trials, of hopes blast
ms and of hopes realized-of maternal gne
at and joys, eliminating in the array Of d
oh scendants before her. The "golden" pa
were Fitch Clark, aged seventy-one, al
NJ his wife, Laura Clark, aged sixty-uir
ct, There were five sons of Fitch, flour pre-
it ent, and three daughters. The sons a
- Ozias of Wisconsin, Sheldon of Oswe
70 Johnathan B., Harry A., (of the TT
cts House, and Horace, of Troy. [
,on daughters present were Lucretia, AM