St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-08-01

'twan't for the woodchucks the ID
woodchucks are eatin' it all up" There
are ALWAYS woodchucks i'll the farmers
grass lot. Sometimes it is the railroad
woodchuck. as in Illinois: sometimes
the tax woodchuck. as in Missouri and
New Hampshire: sometimes the eight
hour wOodchuck. or the country store
woodchuck. as in Vermont and Massa-
chusetts. Every locality has its par
ticular wOodchuck, which the patrons
of Husbandry" are now setting the dogs
on with great zeal, and to the high
satisfaction of the dogs and the boys.
Let not our little parable he inter
prcted us a hint that the farmers have
no real grievances to complain Of
they undoubtedly have such in some
states. and perhaps everywhere. But
it cannot escape the observing eye that
there are distinctions to he drawn. No
doubt the western farmers have been
taxed too much by the railroads and
the protectionists no doubt the local
taxes in Massachusetts and New Hamp-
shire often hang weight around the
neck of the small farmer i'll the purely
agricultural towns; no doubt the Yer
mont store keepers and middle-men
get good bargains out of their trade in
tea and butter, in Gotten cloth and ma
pie sugar. But each region may have
its special advantages for the farmer,
too: if there were no grass there would
lie few woodchucks. Even Il drOuth
has its profitable side,-if it lessons the
crop it raises the price, and sometimes
improves the quality. But a general
drouth. like general famine, is now
almost impossible. While the tobacco
in orr valley has been pining and
scorching. the grass meadows among
the Green mountains have had rain
enough to give them an abundant bur
den. Weather that ruins potatoes may
he good for corn; railroads that pinch
the Patrons of Husbandry in Iowa put
butter money into his pocket i'll northern
Vermont. There has been no time,
perhaps. when the farmers of Franklin
and Orleans. LamOille and Caledonia
counties were more prosperous than
they now are no time when their tim
Der land was worth SO much, their neat
cattle were so numerous and so choice.
their butter better or nearer a market.
and their railroad facilities 50 good as
now.
The oranges" are fast extending
over Vermont. Every town in Orleans
county has one, and nearly every town
in Caledonia and Franklin counties. In
81. JOhnShury. the county seat of Gale
donna. they have a weekly organ. the
Vermont Farmer, and other newspapers
in the state are friendly to the organiza-
ton. which has appeared. also. in Chit
tanl.n | .,nnilln anil
counties. Its efforts at present are di-
rected toward the purchase of family
supplies at wholesale prices, and the
Withdrawal of custom from the village
traders, but there are intimatiOns that
i'll the coming contest between the pco-
Pile and the railroad swindlers of Yer
mont the oranges may take part against
the railroads. as they do at the West.
This might he a good thing all round
and very likely it would also he well to
reduce the number and the profits of
the middlc-men i'll Vermont, and bring
producers and consumers nearer to-
gether. But the laws of cause and
effect, of supply and demand, cannot
he set aside by any secret society: and
it does not need newspaper to teach
farmers that even woodchucks have
their uses.-Springfeld Republican.
SIN PRINTING ON FRUIT.-Boys and
girls. if you wish to astonish any mem
bers of the family or any coming guests
by some day allowing them to discover
their initials neatly printed on pear.
peach or apple. us it hangs on its branch.
this Is the way to carry ont your plan
JUST before the fruit ripens. cut the de-
sired letters from sheet of thin tough
paper: then paste them on the side of
the fruit most exposed to the sun, and
when in course of time you remove the
paper from the ripe surface you will
find the letters distinctly marked upon
it.