Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-01-27

MONT WATCHMAl
immediate vicinity Of large market, whore
IL can find n consumer at once, and 1t was
urged that in Vermont we were obliged to
produce a staple article, which would keep,
rs fancy butter would not The resolution
was laid upon the table, and the society all
iouucd until evening.
Evening session.
breeds or CATTLE.
Prof Witherell addressed the meeting
| lie said he was glad to renew his acquain-
lance Of one year ago with Vermont dairy
men. lie said he proposed to talk about
how TO make dairy work profitable Agri-
culture is not and never can become an OK
act science, because there is always some
factor in what you use that you do not and
cannot know anything about We Of to-day
are living under Christian civilization, and
cooperation is one Of its strongest elements.
/ It is the factor which enters largely into the
objects OF this association, and that has eff
| fected the establishment Of cheese factories
and creameres. The speaker then, at con-
siderable length proceeded to give an exact
and metaphysical definition to the term
science lie then discussed the value Of che
different breeds Of cows, aud regarded as
/ the most valuable cross between the short
horns and natives. lie gave statistics TO
T o. . ~ 4
quantity Of milk, with the same amount Of
/ feed than any Of the thoroughbreds. lie
urged that dairymcn should produce the ar
ticle demanded by the market, and said
closer and more intelligent observation Of
the markets and the public demand was
necessary.
Prof Wickson desired TO state that the
dairy referred to by Mr.. Wethcrel that
yielded eight hundred pounds Of cheese 10 a
COW. was culled from the best cows out Of
all the herds in the county, which accounted
/ for this enormous yield.
Thursday Morning session.
The association was called to order soon
after ten o'clock, by the Hon. Z. D. Mason,
of Richmond, the president, and announced
the following committees:
Dairy Inp'cmcas-C. S McAllister, II.
/ w. Vail II. A. Soulc.
Butter and Cheese-E. r. Wickson, of
New York John T. Ellsworth, of Mass.
Prof. l.. b. Arnold, of New York
The president also announced that return
tickets would be furnished to members Of
the association on the Central Vermont
railroad. An acrimonious and irrelevant
discussion, thereupon, took place between
Mr.. o. NJ Tinkham, of Pomfret, and Mr.,
O. $. Bliss, of Georgia, the secretary of the
association in regard to the extent Of this
privilege the former contending that all per-
sons should have it, and the latter that it
should be confined to members Of the assoc
citation. They succeeded in exciting them
selves, but not the members and after each
had relieved his mind the discussion was
dropped.
CORRESPONDING.
Mr. 4. w. Cheever, Of Sheldonville, Mass,
editor of the New England Farmer, read an
interesting paper on grass-growing a spe-
cialty." lie begun with retrospect Of az
riculture fifty years ago, and contrasted it
with the scientific systems Of farming now
in vogue, when each soil was devoted to its
special crop, and farmer, instead of trying
to raise little Of everything, confined his
exertions to raising some one or two profta-
bic crops which commanded ready market.
lie advised the raising Of crops which did
not compete with the West and referred to
the market gardening practoed in the neigh
borhood Of the large cities and the great milk
farms Coming down more especially 10 his
subject, he referred to the grass-growing of
old times, and sketched the slipshod man
ner in which it was conducted. He said it
was not surprising with such management
that till lately the dairy interests had held
an inferior position among the agricultural
industries of Vermont; but now, with the
railroad facilities of Vermont and the great
abundance Of water, the dairy interest might
easily and ought to be the first industry Of
the state Let the West have the preemin.
ence in grain raising but assert the suprem.
acy of Vermont in grass-growing. The
great secret of success in the dairy business
was good fodder for cattle, and they should
not be fed on corn stalks the straw Of ri
pened grain or over ripened hay Farm
ers had right TO select the crop the,
wish, and if they failed to raise goo,
,ne it was their own faalt. lie thel
proceeded TO sketch the processes of ma
ture in regard TO the growth of grasses
and argued that if the ways OF nature wer
only needed, and seed sown at the right time
two crops of grass could easily be obtaine,
every year. Early autumn was the hes
time to SOW grass seed, for then the gras
would get well established in the fall, an,
overcome the annual weeds which start il
the spring. lie did not like the idea OF SOW
ing grain with the grass lie found in hi
own farming that it paid to make specialt
of growing grass instead of making it tn
= second or third crop in Importance. In OF
der to do this, thorough cultivation was ne,
essary and the farmer must do in fey
-. weeks what nature, if left alone, would tax
| NllN VI iilhi' NNoiN W wv iiN must MANI
deep and mellow soil, and mingle fertilizer
very thoroughly with it. The ground mu.
be all plowed in the early autumn, and h
y himself preferred triple plow. With n
crop could good commercial fertilizers
used with so much success as with gras
: lie then gave a retrospect Of his own exper
ence in grass growing, and said that f
o. spring seeding without grain, timothy gra.
N was the poorest, and orchard grass the hes
- lie eulogized the orchard grass, and said
= must be understood to be appreciates
- Grown ON poor, dry land by lazy farmer,
- would not give satisfaction but in u
hands of wide-awake dairyman it woul
= give too crops in the season, If sown with
mixture OF clover and June grass. A gre
difficulty with farmers was in not manurir
e as soon as they ought to; but with hin
when his grain was ripe enough to cut
he hurried it along, for every days delay
b, preciated it, and he would cut little u
of ripe rather than let it stand Land shou
nd be kept in good order by plenty of fertilize
he just after moving 1t should be bush,
4, down fine and made 10 lie close to the 81
he face Such applications of light top DIRE.
nd ing made the difference between good or