Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1877-02-09

the farm--worth at least one hundred dollars |
an acre. SO from time to time the tillage |
augmented and my stock increased to up
wards of 100 head Of cattle, 100 sheep, and |
several horses. make yearly sale Of from |
10 to % head Of cattle, and, on yearly av-
crage have got sl5 above the cost Of
each yoke Of cattle sold. l mover
make speciality of one kind Of stock,
but keep variety. think oxen make
cheaper team for doing farm work thar
horses. The cost Of two yoke of oxen only
equals about one span Of horses, besides, the
yokes and carts cost much less than harnesses
and wagons; and the interest on the balance
in few years will amount to no inconsidera-
bic sum. Again, when horses become old
they can be sold for only nominal price,
while oxen may be turned into beef and
command remunerative profit. | always
worked diligently early and late, and found the
fulGllmeut of the proverb, HE that tilleth
his soil shall have plenty of bread"
A great many complain that farming docs
not pay in New England. The road is slow,
to be sure, but [ know no better way to
competency than the straight, woll-carried out
road of farming. 1t requires considerable
study and close attention, and the man who
expects the farm to take care oil ITSELF will,
sooner or later, be the victim of sad disap.
pointment. Contrast the difference between
the one that spends nearly half his time
away from home and the other half drags
his legs into the field and about the field as
if they were burden, with the one
that is daily at his post, tilling
the soil or ministering to the wants of his
stock. While the former is off on cloudy
day, the latter has, perhaps, performed one
Of tho best days work Of the season. The
difference is manifest to every passer by.
The decayed fences, the tumbed down walls,
the piles of rubbish furnishing harbor for
noxious insects, the untidyness Of tho build
ings, the diminutive crops, all attest to the
care and thrift Of that farmer.
Many persons, and especially young men
desire to leave the farm and embark in a
more lucrative business, while others prefer
going west. Tho great trouble is, they be-
come discouraged in a year or two, before
the profits of the farm can begin to come in.
Not many years ago four or FIVE young men
called on me few days before they were in
tending to start for the western country, to
get my views in regard to the subject. After
talking some time they concluded that one
of their number should go and reconnoter a
little, and besought me to go with him, aud
being DESTROYS of seeing a little of that coun-
try | finally consented. After inspecting
several Of the states and making many obser.
vations aud inquiries, we found the land was
dear, except along the frontier settlements
| ~ e. I'll ool
roads, especially in the fall, were so muddy
as to be almost impossible, which rendered
it laborious job to get the products to mar
ket took from home careful statistics
relating to the cost of raising my farm pro.
duce, aud compared them with reliable i'm
formation obtained there, and, all things con-
sidered we thought it was as profitable to
stay at home and till our native soil. On
reporting the result Of our research to the
boys, they abandoned the idea of emigrating
to strange country.
Farming lies at the basis of all kinds Of
business. 1t is the foundation on which
stands the merchant, the banker and all cor
poratioDs. They depend upon the farmer for
their daily bread. They rely upon him for
nearly all their business, for their clothes,
for nearly every morsel that passes their lips.
Each one and all are preying upon the fruits
of the farmer. BY carefully working they
have got control, and by money and suprem-
acy they intend to maintain it. Money is
power, and by it they successfully prevent
him from having word to say in legislature.
|, If a farmer, or a man that is in sympathy
with the farmer, is nominated to any office
where he can in any degree protect his rights
he is ousted and u member Of some monop-
oily elected. There is but one time in the
J year when they seem to care in the least fol
! the farmer, and that is just before election
They want to have him drop that little paper
$ into the ballot box for their own particular
D candidate, then all is over till another year
I comes round, then they play it over again IL
the same way, Between these times you arc
not known.
These corporations and monopoies have
during the past few years, become so impera'
tive in their demands, that the farmers have
: found it their duty to, in some degree, pro
tect their rights, aud it is to this end tina
the grange has risen, and why it is so op
posed by many classes. 1t is not its purpos
to override or deprive any one of all his jus
q privileges it is not its purpose to control OIL
e subjugate any one. 1t is to hold up auC
y =. protect the rights of the aboring man it i
y to equalize this great excentrcity, so tina
all may maintain and enjoy equal rights an,
equal privileges. When this is done, it
work is finished.