The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-01-04
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED BY ALBERT CHAPMAN.
How can Farming be Made More
Profitable.

There are are few branches OF business
in which the operators would be willing
to plod on year after year without i'm
proving their condition as are the great
mass Of our farmers. Looking around
upon any given number in almost any
neighborhood, how little of improvement
is manifest in the condition of themselves
or their farms, from year to year. And
looking back through number of years,
how many are content to live and die not
much the wiser, or richer in this worlds
goods, or the influence and standing that
improved condition brings.
And yet there is no business that opens
a surer mode to competence and influence,
than that offered to all on the farm, if
the same is conducted on the same intelli-
gent, wide-awake principles usually OBJ
served among almost all other kinds of
successful business men.
Perhaps one great reason Of this is, the
large mass Of our agricultural men are
born farmers, and learn their business by
rote, much the same as the animals on the
farm learn to fill their places of useful
ness Often the very brightest of our
country boys not being content to plod
ON in the way their grandfathers walked,
and not being encouraged by fathers who
have too great reverence for the opinions,
and practices of their very worthy sires,
to branch out and try more improved sys-
TENS of farming become finally disguised
with the whole business as too slow and
old fogyish, and leave home to embark
in other, and apparently to them, quicker
roads to fortune and influence Thus
farming, constantly loses great amount
of brains that it sadly needs to advance
its improvement and profits. Boys have
. quick, active brains usually, and see
many places that improvements could be
made, where older and more contented
minds would be satisfied with things that
their fathers thought well enough, 1t
would be much better if farmers would at
least fully satisfy themselves that their
boys were wrong, for other and better
reasons than that they are innovations
upon old fashioned customs, before they
refuse their compliance with and assis.
lance in their plans for improvements
We think many a bright boy would thus be
saved as an invaluable member Of the
farming fraternity that is now driven out
Of it and into more uncertain and often
less respectable pursuits. How often it
is the case that improvement in some
branch of farming introduced by the son
against the opposition Of the father has
been the means of bringing the much
sought for wealth and influence that same
father had been striving for in vain from
his first start in life
And this matter OF improvements brings
us back to our subject, from which We
have wandered, somewhat. One way,
then, that farming may be made more
profitable is by putting more thought,
more brains, into it. Instead OF studying
how you shall get your thought away
from it, study how you may make changes
in your own practices that will result in
such improvements as will add to the
profits of the farm. Again, put more
money into it, There are very few farms
in Vermont that have nearly as much
capital invested in their working opera
tions as will make them pay to their full
lest extent or near to it.
A very large proportion Of our farmers
continue to save little money, which
they straightway invest in Bank stocks,
bonds, or loan on mortgage, when, in
most all such cases, they have banks at
home where they can invest their surplous
money with surety of much greater
dividends than where they do invest it.
Vermont farmers would be surprised
to see the amount of labor and capital ex-
pended to run small farm in York and
Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.
More of both is usually invested there, in
farm of forty to fifty acres, than is us
ual OH farm of two hundred acres here,
and the amount of of returns that are re-
eeived there would be equally matter
OF wonder to those not conversant with
high farming as practiced in those sec
items. There are so many ways that
capitol could be better invested on most
of our farms than to put it out at interest
that we cannot go into an extended enum-
GRAFTON Of them here, but will mention
few.
Thorough drainage with tile under
drains has been repeatedly known to re-
turn from % to 30 per cent from the
start.
More thorough tillagc would add much
10 the profits Of most farms. We were
in Western New York during the wheat
seeding two years last autumn, and came
to the conclusion that the thorough mode
Of preparing their ground before the
wheat was sown had quite as much IN
fuenee in giving them superior wheat
crops as their location, and if Vermont
farmers would fit their ground with a.
much care and put in their wheat with u
drill as. carefully as did the farmers OF
western New York, Addison county
might soon rejoice in as famous crops Of
winter wheat as she did in the days of
her early history. With a higher system
Of cultivation, and liberal use of lime,
We believe Addison county could raise at
least ali the wheat used within her
border with more profit than she can i'm
port II.
Again there are but few farmers but
but what could proftably invest more
capital in better stock than they are now
keeping. We know farmers that are
apparently satisfied with their cows that
are yielding from five to seven pounds Of
butter per week, while many farmers
have those that yield ten pounds or even
more in the best part Of the season. II
we estimate right, the difference in profit
between two such diaries of ten cows
each would be not less than four hundred
dollars, or forty dollars each COW per
season. As in cows SO in sheep. Many
farmers seem satisfied with keeping sheep
that yield less than four pounds of wool
on an average each year, when a very