Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-04-01

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order of intellect. is cheap in every mar
kct That business which demands high
degree of Intellectual ability, sound iul@
ment and tcIligent enterprise. usually
pays him well who possesses these quail
tications and employs them in its develop
ment but that occupation which calls f !
little more than mere brute force in its
pursuit usually Yields but a moderate re
turn for the services Of those who enc zoe
in it, and is looked upon rs mental and
degrading He who can successfully con
duct IN extensive railroad, manufacturing
mining, or other like enterprise. will COM
mand Il high salary, and it will be paid
with profit by his employers, though he
may put little physical force into their
business. 1t is his mental power and in
telligent application for which they pay.
There are certain callings which do not
admit of an ex ensive application of men
tal power. In such cases, the c mpensa
ton received by those who engage in them
comparatively small. An intelligent Woo l.
chopper or ditcher will command higher
wages than one who is stupid. because he
will accomplish more with the same phys
zeal force, and do his wo k better But
owing to the nature of the business, phys
icul force must be his chie reliance for
success. and he cannot command Il high
salary for such service. because that class
of labor i cheap, and less remunrrativ,.
tnan that of Il more intellectual nature.
The rewards of business will. as 4 Gen
cral rule, be in proportion to the amount OF
brain work which is put into it. This i
emphatically true of the business of the
d;irvman There are few ctllings which
Weld better return for Il mental applc;l-
ton than this. 1t may be conducted ut Il
loss, even where an unnecessary amount
of physical force is put into it 3; or with
less Of this and more intelligence, it may
be made to Weld better pecuniary returns
III proportion TO the money inv sted than
almost any other legitimate business pur-
sued among us l am aware that this is
not in accordance with the common belief
The time was when it WAS thought that
any blOckhead who had not brains enough
10 succeed 1T anything.else could succeed
as Il farmer ana dairyman. But let us moi
deceive ourselves longer in regard 10 this
mat CT.
Success in dairy enterprise in Vermont
depends more upon nlcHtp P0icer G3ld cdu
rutcd Sklt than upon any other cons ilcr-
alton. Let me Illustrate by citing pr1cti-
cal facts, which have actually occurred here
IN Vermont during the past season, and
thus present the two extremes of practice
IN dairy farming ong MS. viz: That
practice where physical force Is relied upon
for success, lnI opposite, where IN III
telligent enterprise is made to predomnate
These examples are taken from practice in
the department of the butter dairy
Examples of the former class may be
found in almost eve,v dai V community
no a1i1r l..tn I.,hf IN,
their fields until dark and then milk their
cows when they should be at rest who
seem to think that what they thus get out
of themselves, their Etmili :, and their
helps clear gain. Constantly 0verworked.
they have no time OF inclination for
thought upon any subject they never in
yestlgatc new systems or modes of practice,
but gO-On in the old ruts; they spend little
for improvements their COWS are such rs
chance 10 fall into their hands and are as
unimproved as the wild cattle of the plains,
and are bred with rs little care or system
Their butter is manufactured by Il waste
tul. llbOIiOus, and inconsistent process.
and its quality is rs uncertain us the
weather. hey know little with regard to
the average product of their cows per head.
and much less with regard to the cOmpar-
alive merits of the individuals of their
herds. But if their average product of
butter per head reaches l30 pounds and
sells ut an average of p cents per pound.
thus receiving an income of 1872. 30 per
head from their cows, they thoughtessly
accept this result as an inevitable conse-
quence of the poverty of the business:
though this is barely enough for the keep
ing of their cows, poor rs it is. while the
labor expended upon tenn. and the inter
est of the money which they cost. are both
It total loss. They never seem to realize
that they themselves are Mt all responsible
for the result.
This class very naturally look upon the
dairy business as hard, slavlsh, and profit
less. They complain of hard times and
bad luck. They have few of the convent
ences and comforts upon which the ease
and pleasure with which their business NAV
he conducted depend. / his is Il very natural
result OF such II course. Why should he
not complain of hard times who thinks
such results necessity of lis cupatiun
and grumbles about the savIsh tn which
1t I'M oses? Unre iuited toll. hopplesslv
continued, is slavery, and he who thus
performs it is Il drudge But if it is the
result OF his own stolid apathy he can lust
ly blame no one but himself, and railing
about hard times, bad luck and his Door
calling will not help his case Nothing
but self reform, more intense thought and
more inte ligent enterprise will, or ought
to, save him from financial ruin. Hard
work, without mental application, will not
do it.
let US now turn to the opposite extreme
OF dairy management, to the dairyman
who applies brain work to his calling. and
who though diligent does not RELY upon
physical force alone for success, but who
by Intelligent enterprise and superior skill
has brought the productive capacity of his
COWS TO quo pounds per head per annum.
and WHO has SO improved the quality of his
product that 1t commands sixty cents Del
pound Ill the market. And in presenting
this example | am not presenting an I'M
possibility, but only that which has re-
peatedly been accomplished in Vermont,
and which may be accomplished by MANY,
with the requisite skill and perseverance,
am not presenting an amount of prod
Uct reached only by individual COWS. bu,
the average product of entire herds. Nor
am presenting price per pound which is
received only In consequence Of favoritism
as is often the case near large cities. where
amateur dairymen sell their prints to the
upper ten ior > per pound, but price
which is now being paid on contracts for
the year by Boston hotel keepers to prac-
teal dairymen in this state a price paid
because of the uniformly superior qua ity
of tie article which they manufacture.
There YET is room for hundreds of others
~ receive the same price for an equally
good article put up in the same neat and
tasteful manner. How different the finan-
cial result in this case. The producer re-
ceives slo0 per COW for his product per
year. If we allow him twice rs much for
keeping as in the case before cited, and