Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1866-11-16
Miscellany.
The Switzerland of America and
the Switzerland of Europe.

l
BY the census Of 1850, Vermont and
New Hampshire contained six hundred
and thirty thousand inhabitants, while
Switzerland contained two million five
hundred and thirty thousand. OF these
about five hundred thousand are in the
Alpine section, leaving two millions for
territory about as large as the western
half of Vermont. How do they live ?
What is their occupation ? Are they pro-
gressive or stationary? Is it possible for
New England to maintain population
equally dense? These are practical ques-
tions, deserving attention, for it has been
said that New England has exceeded the
limit of agricultural production that she
can only exist by importing bread from
the West, and giving manufactured arti-
cles in return. The question of climate
comes first. New England has hot, short
summers and cold winters, with from three
to five months of snow on her hills. Switz-
| Siialiu uaS iOlSSis C'OlSr suilliSis anu
warmer winters. Here, as / write, on
this second day of October, can look
from my window upon the roses in bloom
in the garden, and upon the Alps white
with snow. No frost as yet has touched
with cold fingers the vines upon the sur
rounding hills; but it is not climate alone
which enables the Swiss to produce two
crops of grass yearly on their moving
lands, but a husbandry such as New Eng
land farmers know nothing of. In climate
Switzerland has the advantage, but the
hills of Vermont are naturally as fertile
as those of this Republic; they are of the
same geologic formation-dark gray lime
stone.
The next question is that of labor,
which in Vermont is worth dollar or a
dollar and quarter day, while here it
r ranges from ten TO twenty cents. No wo-
man 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 as the head of the family. In a
= population so dense, every rod of arabic
# land is under cultivation. But l wish
. that the farmers of New England could
: have Swiss plow on exhibition at theiI
is agricultural fairs. / kzow nothing which
!, !, could be more attractive. Riding across
the country last week, laid my hands on
one of them and saw it in operation. And
such plow The Swiss plowshares will
not be beaten into swords when the Mil
: lenium comes round the reason why will
, be shortly apparent.
The instrument is on this wise piece
of oak joist, three feet long and three
, inches square, form the foot one end Of
, the timber is scarfed and upon the scarf a
thin piece of iron is nailed, which forms
the point of the plow. Two uprights,
framed into the foot, hold the beam; a
} straight board, without iron, without a line
of curvature, projecting from one of the
uprights, turns the furrow, while two ham
dies complete the instrument, which SIM
ply scratches the ground. measured the
furrow, which was about five inches wide
and three deep noticed in one field
where the sub soil was hard that men and
women followed the plow with hoes to
deepen the furrow l dare say that your
I readers will be astonished to learn that
. the largest part of the land is never touch.
: ed even by this rude instrument, but i,
turned solely by hoe.
There are thousands of acres which
/ might be plowed, which are as free from
} stone and as easy of cultivation as tht
. magnificent meadow lands of the Connect
= icut, but which are dug over every season
4 by men and women, with great clumsy
: than the plows!
= There is a remarkable discrepancy in
p the industry and mechanics of Switzer
, land, for in railroad engineering, in the
construction of locomotives, in architec
= ture, in the manufacture of watches they
!. are unsurpassed but in mill machinery
in agricultural implements, carriages, il
labor-saving machines, they are away bacl
in the 10th century.
"Why do you not plow your land in
stead of digging it over?" asked of ont
: of the people.
"Oh, labor is very cheap" was his re
ply.
- The multitude have no conception o
the true principle which underlies eeono
my-that mind is more powerful than mus
= Gle. So ignorant are they of this princi
pie that they use the hoe instead of th'
plow; themselves instead Of horses. The
transport everything possible on thei
backs instead of using carts. Thei
ss- wheeled vehicles are mainly handcarts.
But in the utilizing of manures and o
farfil;zers New England men can com