Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1866-10-26


Vermont is worth dollar or dollar and
quarter day, while here it ranges from ten 70
twenty cents. No woman OF Vermont wields
the hoe all day long by the side Of her husband,
but here the wife performs quite as much labor IN
the fields az the head of the family. In pop
ulstion so dense. every rod Of arabic land is
under cultivation. But | wish that the farmers
of New England could have Swiss plow on ex-
hibition at their agricultural fairs | know OF
nothing which could be more attractive Hiding
across the country LAST week, laid my hands to
one of them and saw it in operation. And such
pillow The Swiss ploWshsres will not be
beaten into swords when the Millennium comes
round; the reason why will be shortly sppa-
rent.
The instrument is on this wise: 4 piece Of
oak joist, three feet long and three inches
tquare, forms the foot; one end Of the timber IS
scsried and upon the scarf a thin piece OF iron
| is nailed, which forms the point CT the plov.-
| Two uprights, framed into the foot, hold the
beam; a straight board. without iron, without
/ line of curvature, projecting from one OF the
| uprights turns the furrOw, while two handles
complete the instrument, which SIMPLY scratches
the ground. | measured the furroT, which
/ vas about five inches wide and three deep
noticed in one field where the sub soil was hard
| thst men and women followed the plow with hoes
] 10 uttltu lut IuTEQh sly tAANA fNNA
readers will be astonished 10 learn that the
largest part of the land IS never touched even
| by this rude instrument, but is turned solely by
hoe.
There are thousands Of acres which might he
| plOWed. which are as tree from stone and as
easy Of cultivation as the magnificent meadow
| lands Of the Connecticut, but which are dug
over every season by men and women, with great
clumsy hoes, which contain more weight Of
metal than the plOws
There is a remarkable discrepancy IN the IL
dustry and mechanics Of Switzerland, for in
railroad engineering, in the construction Of 10
comotives, 10 architecture, in the manufacture
Of watches they are unsurp passed; but in mill
machinery, in agricultural implements, car
riages, in labor-saying machines, they are away
back in the 10Th century.
why DO you not pillow your land instead Of
digging it over" | asked Of one Of the paopie.
"Oh, labor ls very cheap was his reply.
The multitude have no conception Of the true
principle which underlies econ0my-that mind
is more powerful than muscle. So ignorant are
they Of this principle that they use the hoe in
stead Of the pillow; themselves instead oi horses.
They transport everything possible On their
backs instead Of using carts Their wheeled
vehicles arc mainly haHicaris.
But in the utilizing Of maGures snl Of fer
take lessons. These hills and valleys OF west
cru Switzerland are not green the year around,
because the winters are milder than at b sJln
not because they are naturally more fertile, but
= because fertilizers are saved instead Of wasted,
and because they are applied in the beat man
ner to the growing crop. | verify believe that
if the husbaHdry Of New England was equal tC
that Of Switzerland in the matter Of saving and
/ applying fertilizers thst the State Of Vermont
might sustain population Of millions cf inhab-
itants.
4 o, you farmers Of the Green Mountains, who
are beating the world on sheep husbandry, Just
come over here and see how the people o.
Switzerland make their hills as green then
Notwithstanding their wretchei tilth
! simply by the management Of their fertilizers
would no; have the charming cIr.s o
those yeriant hills along Lake Champlain swinl
a hoe from morning till night through al tn
4 summer months | would not have their sweet
ness aud grace thrown away by ceaseless labo
in the fields | would not ike 10 see then
c irsmpling into the fields with n wooden yesse
n shaped like an old fashioned churn strapped L
their backs, filled with manure. The Swis
, peasant girls give themselves TO such labor
{ Everything j. saved here in practical way. Yol
r see heaps OF ro.ting straw. scrapings from III
, roadside, piled near the sink spouts. wateret II
dry weather TO keep up the decomposition
I; Ashes, slops, and refuse fru N house or stable
e lie thoroughly decomposed and reduced to lquu
form. before applied to the crop. Strange TIA
a people 50 wise in the application Of fertilizer
= shou be 50 foolish IN other things Ye
e such are the contrai ieties Of life Thy nigh
retort and say, "Strange thst the people q
New England, who are so inventive. 50 really {
/ produce all sorts Of machinery, to make ir0
% aud steel DO the work Of human fingers, 50 in
. telligent upon sheep husbaudry, and in raisin
y horses, should be so unwise in the simplest an
d most important Of all matters in husbandry-
N that OF food for the soil 30