Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-03-29


were suffering no loss, and enjoyed standstin,
We have commenced an advance. II 50 lucky as
10 be slowly advancing, We quicken our pace and
obtain as much gain to ourselves as those in any
other condition We plough and NOV less acres
plant less hills and make less fence Tor the same
amount Of produce are left our choice to sell
some Of the acres or increase our business, While
the average product IL but a tiide over a ton per
acre Il should be as much over two. While il
takes four to six acres OF pasturage for COW, two
to three should suffice The first step in the pro-
gramme is to learn. The second is TO labor in ac-
cordance Herewith. We may reverence the old
customs aud ruts as far they are reasonable II
not say that, like the types Of the old dispense
ton they were useful in their time. But those
are past-ve are bound to progress onward is
our motto We may engage science rs a helper
but II science pronounces against facts, it must
yield II 1t makes the value Of anything less than
actual experiment it must be invited back. Thus,
you may infer, place experiment ahead ofeyety-
thing else-correspondent-, editors or science
may give you q rule by which to apply manures or
fertilizers, and it may accord with experiments Of
my own trying you try the same with very DIFF
iercnt result find ashes valuable for grass you
find them worthless You find a patent manure
valuable | worthless. our soils differ they need
different stimuants. would not discard the au-
thority OF Others but thought and trial useful
There is too much manuring for special grain
and root crops too large an amount applied at
time, and not often enough. think on soils Of
mari or clay the ground should he up three years
at time, so as To pulyerize or rot sufficiently |
The manure should beapplied each year especially |
the last ! get better catch Of grass thereby |
and ii is improved by sowing the grain thin, and
/ am in favor Of sowing grain when seed instead
Of grass alone. It may do for a Cheeyer to grow
grass alone, not the common farmer Ills best |
place to find his grain, etc. is on the farm TX
tras may be bought Were we fully stocked with
manure, should not say that think It poor
policy to manure a part NJ our land 50 highly |
and to neglect the rest
| once tried the experiment with TWO pieces Of
land, much alike side 10y side put seyenty-fye
loads Of manure on one hundred ffty-fye rods, in
one season-fity loads broadcast twenty-five
in the hill which yielded seventy-fve bushels Of
corn-foowed the next year with wheat ON the
other put twenty loads per acre. each year, fof
three years, with a crop in proportion TO the ma
nure. In the succeeding ten years, harvested
nearly double the amount of hay on the acre with
the sixty loads. The hay extra on the one piece,
would buy the extra corn. The fifteen loads Of
manure put broadcast on worn land, would have
| very materially increased the otherwise lair bal
ance in favor Of the often application of manure
am in favor Of putting the manure or near
the top Of the ground ! cultivate. An expert
ment with few crops of India wheat followed
by rye, with light coat Of manure, gave the best
results OF any ever tried The tenacity Of life
Of India wheat makes It Objectionable on wheat
farms, as II is deleterious to the latter crop am
inclined to think there is for most farms more
merit in top-dressing than is generally credited
The objection TO this method is caused by unsuc-
cessful trial Manures should be applied TO grass
lands Immediately after cutting the hay or carly
in the spring, followed with bush. For want of
time we have applied the dressing when we could
The amount of grass seed sown 10 the acre
should depend upon the condition of the soil
which, if rich. or well MANFRED at seeding should
be oue-fourth bushel each of herdsgrass and
clover per acre For pasture like mine, that has
not been fed sufficiently, and is filed up with
weeds and briars, we had better fill them with q
proper amount Of mouths and hire the cattle to
cut the bushes and weeds We may pay them for
their labor in meal and feed am convinced by
observation that the worst weeds yield to such
!
Mr.. Town, OF Barre has a pasture and now
field, clear from white daisy lone Of the worst Of
, Weeds, while the road running through his farm
is full Of it. The daisy upon the Spencer farm,
E now owned by Jacob McCrillis has lessencd in
amount in the pasture) since McCrs has been
( on the farm; be feeding more closely than did
Spencer. The pastures OF Levi Bartlett, Of our
town, are valuable from close feeding, while ad-
| ~.
/ the same Mr. Dwinell then spoke at some
length in favor Of top-dressng grass lands, and
in answer to inquiry said he would NOV
breaks and briers in pastures, giving cattle bet
| ter chance to keep them down and where there
was a scarcity Of suitable manure for the purpose,
be would recommend lime
Mr.. J. W. T. Bliss also recommended sowing
' dry Stacked lime on moss in pastures and, in his
experience, it would kill it ont at once, and the
O grasses-mainly white clover-wll readily work
t in TO take its place. lie thought many farmers
had failed in the selection Of grass land for pas
e tunge, as that which is low and marshy was I'M
fit for a dairyman he could not make good butter
J from such feed, but give good, sweet clover and
4 upland grass TO your cows, and you could make
n good butter lie had made three hundred and
thirty-five pounds Of butter per cow the last
7 season.
/ Mn Toby gave his experience in the use Of
Stacked lime; he comedies with Mr. Bliss in using
h lime to kill moss lie thought lime, in compan-
son with ashes was one-half cheaper, and would
suggest the idea that farmers experiment with it
more extensively, and If satisfactorily tested we
= have lime at home
Mr.. \. j. HoLLIsrE had experimental with
water on grass land he had two small brooks
which he turned on to his moving and he had
doubled his grass crop by so doing. lie should
turn on more water next year, as he considered it
: good investment.
Mr.. J. X. ToBEy being called up by the chair
man to read paper upon Root Crops" quoted
. a remark of Mr.. Fisher that he could put beets
!, into the cellar for five cents per bushol, and
thought that should settle the question as regards
the profit of raising roots for home consumption.
:, lie recommended sowing the seed broadcast and
:, as beets were very tender, and attended with
: some considerable trouble in the early part of
: the season, he thought many would be more sue
: cessful with turnips. He would make the ground
very rich, and thoroughly pulverize it, then throw
the field by light burrows into ridges, thereby
. getting the fine manure all into the rows where
the crop is. Would SOW as early as the ground
> will admit, and would soak beet seed, by pouring
I, nearly boiling water upon the seed and letting
Il II stand twenty-five hours in a warm place.
Can transplant beets but not till the roots get TO
be one-half inch in diameter; then take OFF the
b large leaves and nip the top root,
u A general discussion then arose upon the sub
Jet OF vines, and various methods suggested for
u the killing of striped bugs, cut worms, etc none,
u however, proved universally effective
DR. Asa GEoRcE spoke upon fruit growing, say
ing he had raised many good trees, and had
killed some by not knowing how TO take CAFE Of
them lie thought, as a general thing that we
did not treat our apple orchards well as we did
b our sugar orchards; but with care we can raise
enough apples for our own use. We have some
very hardy native varieties Of fruits, and some
, that are worthless Among the former, he would
recommend as best adapted to our section, the
Fameuse Red Astrachan, Duchess OF Oldenburg
. Tetoisky and some others. Has a variety of his
own raising, which he calls the George apple very
hardy and highly priced as a nice apple, but not
4 an early bearer lie prunes his orchard at any
l. time all summer, cutting away all sickly branches
"a and leaving the healthy ones. lie washes hi.
,. trees with paste OF lime and soapsuds lie
@ thought there were varieties Of apples adapted tC
oil anils and which will fhrive well with ms al