Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-09-25

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'he base the kernels were shrunken and
Tue ialr prospect was destroyed. Sill the
n rain continued after harvest time came.
Inc wheat crinkled down, harvesting ma
onlnes could not work. and the total des.
'ructlon OF the entire crop at one time
seemed imminent.
fortunately. however, the rains ceased
In time to secure the ruins of the crop bn,
IL was slow process. The grain was
oown ana tangled in all directions. The
straw was too brittle to bind; and take it
all together, farmers say it was the most
dl>couraging and disagreeable harvest they
have ever passed through.
There was great demand for self.bind.
ers this year-a demand greater than the
supply. They had not come into use yerv
generally but were beginning to be re.
garued as success. As the outlook
promised great crop, and there was "a
Likelihood OF scarcity of help from the
TACT that there had been an unusual emi.
grafton west. and the grasshoppcr scourge
being removed there were less laborers
nom the grasshopper country seeking
Work than usual, the farmers deemed il
necessary to invest literally in labor saw
ing machinery. in order 10 meet the emer.
gency of great harvest 1t was estima,. i.
ed that the value of harvesters and self
binders sold equaled the assessed value of
the personal properly in the county. But
the self-b'nders were unequal to the task
Of binding the grain in the condition it was
IN this seasoD. Agents of the different
classes of machines fitted hther and
thiiher at the incessant calls of the per-
picked farmers who had taken them to
try, and they used almost superhuman eff.
forts to make their several machines a
success: but it was all fruitless. The odd,
against them were too great. Some of the
grain that stood the straightest wa.
bound at the first of the season, but lii.
tie later all attempt to bind it was aban.
doned. Men threw The grain loose
from the harvester into windows. to be
gathered and stacked as best it could
Well. after all, there will be whea
enough for bread and seed, and some tt
spare. The crops of corn, oats and pota
toes were never better. On the whole
we have no reason to complain. Farmers
have made The raising of wheat the mail
thing. Perhaps if they should be led t,
depend more ON mixed husbandry i
would be good thing.
We had our first genuine frost last night
There had been some faint touches of i
in different places before, but not enough
to make any very perceptible effect. Las
night the frost whitened the ground TIC
day an overcoat and good fire are nc
uncomfortable things 10 have. Last wee
was unusually warm, but now W
have pretty plain intimation that winte
is approaching. We can hardly expect t
be let off AS easily next winter as last.
one extreme follows another. the extrem
of cold this winter that will follow the eS
treme of heat this summer will bring u
winter of almost unexampled severity
The rival state fairs last week in the tw
rival cities. St. Paul and Minneapolis
created something of a ripple on the SUI
face of events. Each city tried to outd
the other in the extent of its preparation
One secured President Hayes for speal
er, and the other secured Jim Blaine. TIL
concourse of people was SO immense til,
but little else could be done. A gentl
man from these parts took some frIent
there, but he said after the first hour
got separated from them and saw no MOI
of them. Another gentleman said |
heard it estimated that there were fort
thousand or four hundred thousand--t
couldn't tell which. Perhaps it ddn
matter. w. F.