Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-02-18
The Needs of Agriculture.
BY NC. DAVIS OF BRooKFIELD.

SESSION of the State Board of agriculture '
held at Randolph, January p, 1874.
1t is not with the thought that anything :
[ can present will edify those assembled ,
here when so many better fitted by nature,
education and experience to entertain and
instruct are present; but as a son of +
Vermont, who is indebted to her agricul-
ture for the little he possesses, and dislikes
to hear it disparagingly spoken of, and is
willing to do battle in its defense, ut the
solicitation of others, | venture to lay be-
fore you few thoughts on the needs of
agriculture.
Before determining what those needs
are, let us inquire what we may lawfully
expect agriculture to accomplish? If it is
to sustain a population its men all office
seekers or spectators, and its women
vitalized wardrobe hooks, loaded with
the hair of the past and the fashions of the
present, honest labor stunned. the sooner
the cry that the bottom has fallen from
Vermont agriculture becomes fact, the
sooner will all find their rIghtful place, for
the bottomless must be their destiny. But
if what is required of her is to furnish
homes for double her present population
homes that enterprising and prudent young
men may with the accumulatlons of II few |
years of service rs hired laborers venture
to call their own, and which with the aid
of her who was given to man to be his
helpmeet,an the blessing of God, will soon
become so home whose inmates are well
if not ftshionablv clothed, whose material
wants are supplied W tn all that nature re-
quires to make them strong in body and
mind, she is equal to the demand
And not only this, but she can give to
l., 4 hn Will
educa ion, fitting them for any station, and
leisure to cultivate and enjoy those social
and religious instincts an all-wise and low
ing Father has implanted within us, and
! the means to CRAFTY many of those tastes
! that elevate and refine their possessors
! But before this can be realized, agricul-
ture has many needs to be Implied. AMI
/ those needs are aud must be such as can be
supplied 10y men of small meal 5, for the
soil of Vermont is and from the nature of
the S Ill ever will be titled 70 the most part
by those who have comparatively little of
that the love of which is said to be the
root of all evil
i first and greatest want of Vermont
agriculture is that those who engage III the
pursuit should be honest men. who would
consider it robbery to take from the soil
without returning Il fair equivalent. rob
bing their descend ,ntS of their rlghttul in
heritance, and sc0In it rs taking from those
who have no means of self-tefense. hat
the present generation may be provided
for and the future not robbed is the prob
lem for the Vermont agrlculturlst ut this
time. And that this may be done sys-
EN- must be adopted which will require a
} series of years to carry ouI-a system
: which while looking for the greatest pos
sible production on all the acres undel
cultivation wi / not be satisfied without {
2 constant improvement of those acres.
2 No system can be formed that viii
t apply in all cases, bat etch must ttke
5 into consideration not only soil and surface
Z hut his own capacity tastes and circum
!, stances, ever keeping in mind each year t.
5 make some improvement by which glNei
+ amount of pi oduce can be III sed with les
labor than the year before. either by lncreils
: inc the fertility of the soil or improvin:
+ the surface, or both That this can be don
l. is shown bv the success of here and Their
| an individual. but that it is not often don
+ is but too plainly demonstrated in the eX
e perience of most of us. This can be don
i ave in exceptional eases by a judiciou
IS feeding of the crops on the farm and tn
return of the eXcrement to the soil -thl
v carefully done and its effect aided by goo
e culture will give profitable returns and Il
) increas no fertility to the soil from year t
|; wear: though the profits and the permanen
e fertility may be much increased by usln
e absOrbents.
= 1t is often said if we could sell our crop
,, and not be obliged to feed them at hom
Is farming would pay. But it can be shown
+. fiptres which we are told do not lie, thu
il 1t will pay better to feed our hay and graf
T. to almost any kind of healthy stock tina
II to sell it at the market price, at least
N auv distance from a market or, in othe
a words, that feed can be bought and pa:
a trre hired and Il margin be left for attenC
" ance and use of the money invested in th
e, stock kept.
I'd That this may be done brings to vie
n another of the needs of Vermont agricu
n. ture-improved stock. Not the thirt
h. thousand dollar animals of the fame
IN breeder, though all honor to the raisers {
m them for they are doing Il good work, b'
m this stock is found beyond the reach of mo
hit of US; yet we need not give up all effo
er because we cannot excel. There is gre
room for improvement in our stock OF a
in kinds that we can make Much can
an done by persistent breeding from the be
he within our reach, and then caring well f
lis Une lICTciiSc
no There is Il herd of COWS in this coun
,t. that bv an infusion Of Ayrshire bio,
r twenty-five years ago. and of Durha
of eighteen years ago, and by raising only Il
er best and caring we'll for them, is far in a
IT. vance of the neighboring herds in loo
he and profit. and not only that but caref
he breeding has been so long continu
.,- that all the heifers of late have prov
,,s extra mixers. And this success has be
od attained with no loss, no risk and no OF
no law greater than would run the pipe of
,r smoker six months 1t is not necessal
in however, that we wait to raise mi.rov
. stock, but begin with the stock on ha
lid and improve that AS the old Scotchman
in his breed of pigs-by using larger swi
,or pal. Natures demands must be suppl
oct before there is any profit obtained from t
T feed given our stock. They should
nv regarded us machines to manufacture t
oss raw mat rial into marketable commoditi
~ and the more of it they can work up Wi
7 out overtaxing the machinery the great
nc the profit And not only are the direct
w. w. turns from well-cared stock greater, |
ta,. the increase is fur better than from I
W.. lean, curled-up stock SO common amo
rr1 us. In fact. good feeding for a few e
or erations will change race of Gait
IF sheep or hogs so mucn that hafdly II
W.. ture of the old stock will remain.
Another great need of Vermont az
mt culture is improved buildings, and ,
s .n the term improved buildings because tt
ID. are within the reach of all. while bet
emf buildings can be bad by but few: \
for many can pull down their barns and bu
.ha larger, but we can improve those we ha
) 't r., often by an outlay too small to be MI
M toned. few strips of boards and a
ass pounds of ten. pennies would stop I
- freezing winter winds from chilling ,
rst blood and curling the backbones of the
Il mates of many "a Vermont stable, anc
~ these cannot be had use the untempeI