Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-11-25
Farming in New England.

Under the heading of IAN Unpopular
Topic" the Boston Journal thus discourses
A successful New England business man
who is thoroughly familiar with the details of
all the industries of the Eastern States recent
ly gave it as his candid opinion that those
men who put into the management of their
farms the same energy, care and enterprise
which other men put into their business con-
stitute the most thoroughly independent class
in New England. He further asserted, as
the result of his observations in the West as
well as in New England, that there is no
branch of industry which will afford a surer
return upon a small amount of money, with
proper management, than agriculture in New
England. Years ago, when there was lin
tied market for few products of the soil, a
great many farmers were able to acquire COM
potency. Now that everything which can be
raised upon New England farm will COM
mand cash, there is no reason why those who
will give their attention to their business, and
who think that it is worth putting brains in
to, should not succeed. There" said he,
sis the town Of; there are thousands
of acres of land fit for pasturage, and which
would, in small FARMS support twenty thous-
and sheep, and venture to say that there are
not a thousand in the whole township. In
that same town" he added, ''the apple tree
grows as naturally upon its rocky hillsides as
the sugar maple, so that with little care
each season every farm might as easily have
$500 worth of apples to send to market this
year, as three men who live in it have over
$1,000 worth. What is true of apples and
sheep is true of everything that can be raised
on farm anywhere in the vicinity of a rail-
road. l repeat" said this man, warming
with his own discourse, that the young
men who go to our cities and manufacturing
towns to seek their fortunes make the great
est mistake, since l am confident that with
the same effort which they put forth in work
shop and traffic in the larger towns, they
would be vastly better off at the end of ten
years than more than one in twenty can hope
to become by casting their lot in your crowd
ed cities or our manufacturing towns"
There can be no doubt that there is a
great deal of truth in what this practical man
has said and yet the census reports show
that the rural portions of New England have
been losing population during every decade
since the railroad system became quite gen.
eral and since our manufacturing interests
began to be important. There is reason to
believe that this depletion is still going on
Not only do young men leave the farms, but
those who have for a period of years been
successful and have got things about them to
| live comfortably become uneasy aud sell out
their farms and their independence. Some
tuluh Ut boeul " buihh tuhb tueJ can B6L
living with less labor if they but go to the
neighboring village and take their chances in
| traffic or speculation. Others want to give
their children "better advantages" thinking
that few weeks more of school each year in
a village where their boys will have no en-
| ployment and where they will learn no trade
or acquire any knowledge which will enable
them to earn their bread is in the nature of a
privilege. Others plead that their health is
too delicate 20 do farm work, and go to the
city to live in hiyed-up tenements and to
work in factories or stores, under the impress
sion that they are sufficiently robust for en-
Payments which know few holidays and in
which no man is his own master.
These reasons are only pretexts, although
those who make them may not be aware OF
it. If pushed to give better reason, many
will say that they think that what they are
pleased to call pillow jogging" is not held tC
be the ideal occupation. 1t will do for those
who can do no better and who have only or
binary abilities, but not for those who can dc
better. This is wretched nonsense, but there
is great deal Of it in the minds of many