Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-06-11
Good w.. Had ITu.bandr,.

IN a recent conversation with Mr. II. @.
EUrleigh who spent "a considerable portion of
the pn,I year among the English farmers. be
SPOKE of the great contrast between English
and American agriculture, and the compare
son of the Two systems is not at all ia our IA
Iur. Ind, d, the difference - 80 great that
ihv most casual observer could not fail 10 no
tl'r 10. aud to "a man of Mr. Hurijgh's ,Xp,r-
,ncr m farming, the contrast must Iavc been
iud-, Il marked. Care, ~ farming ut the
present time may b. said 10 b. a trait p,cu-
liar TO the American farmer, trait which
foreigners at once notice When visiting us,
aud one which they do not hesitate to speak
and write about on their return hon..
England j., small IN ur,n but contains AN
iuncHSc population, which Is largely support
81 in favorable seasons, 10y the products of
her soil and in order TO effect this, not a foot
al laud Is allowed to lay waste, but each aud
every portion is laid GLdrr contribution to
S,sist IN feeding the vast multitude Of the
population. Every lushtl of grain ana roots
and every thing beside that the soil is capable
Of producing, is Mhoriou,ly and patiently
drawn out. and no means Of replHi,hng and
rurching the soil is left neglected. How
strongly does this differ from the system of
the average American farmer. Not only
square feet, but square rods and even acres,
duca little OF nothing, and much of that
which Is cultivated does not produce half of
what 1t Is capable of producing with proper
fertilization and clean cultivation
In English agriculture there is a systcmat-
ic rotation Of crops which occupies several
years, while but little attention is paid to this
Important matter in this country. The same
kind of crop is often found growing here,
upon the same field, for several years in sue
c-aalUu, and when attempts at rotation are
made, they are seldom conducted in even an
approximately scientific manner. In some
of the densely populated countries of Europe.
soil is actually carried from the low grounds
and placed upon lodges TO form a soil for Gull
tiyatlon, while in New England even in the
oldest and best cultivated portions, acres and
acres are allowed to remain comparatively
unproductiye. 1t may be answered that We
are not obliged TO resort to such a clean and
careful system OF agriculture, on account of
the large extent Of our arabic lands and our
comparatively sparse population, all OF which
is true enough but this can be no excuse
for loose and slipshod farming. Too many
farmers are DESTROYS of continually extending
their territory until they actually become
land poor. Land which pays no profit is
only damage to the farmer, because it must
pay taxes, and annually adds so much to the
wrong side of the ledger The farmer who
undertakes to cultivate more land than ne
can cultivate well, Is obliged to go over it in
q siip-shod manner, and the net profit of his
labor is greatly reduced thereby.
A prevalent fault with American farming.
aud one about which too much cannot be
said, is the failure to raise upon a given area
what the soil il capable Of producing, and
the entire system l. generally at fault The
land is rarely wei / owed, scarcely ever half
fortified and almost never clearly cultivated,
and the result II that not more than half a