Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-02-01
The American Agricultural Associations 8
Journal.


And the steam-king rules now
The American Agricultural Associations
Journal.
Our readers will remember that we hailed
with great satisfaction the first volume of
this publication, aud urged the desirability
of its regular quarterly issue. And when,
in his announcement of the second number,
the editor made known the purpose Of such
regular issue, we greeted il as a hopeful
promise that we were to have in America an
agricultural quarterly that would take its
place as an equal alongside of other works
of the same class. Well, the second issue is
before us. In fact it has been before US for
several weeks, and we have been debating
how we should treat it in these columns.
Though in many respects meritorious, it has
greatly disappointed us in Others, and has
served as a weighty confirmation to an opin-
ion which has gradually formed itself in
our mind, that no journal of any descrip-
tion truly representing American farmers
Odu Dc BuDliouCu III q ClJ1s Hc
ence of locality is too much for it. The
city estimate of the farmers, to put it in its
bluntest and coarsest form, is that they are
I" the fools in the country who are working
so hard to make us rich This idea of the
agriculturists as ignorant, stupid workers,
GLOVER class" whose function it is to heap
up wealth that others may gather it, univer-
sally pervades city society, and crops out in
city-made books, city-made newspapers, and
city-made periodicals of all kinds That
we are created to furnish by our toll the
wealth which, through the transformations
of finance and trade, shall build up long
streets of palaces for millionaires (whose de-
scendants, so long as they survive, are to be
supported in luxurious idleness on the &C.
cumulated profits of agricultural labor cum
ningly diverted from the farmer to the spec
ulator), is conviction so seated in the SOU
of our urban fellow citizens that it can never
be eradicated save by the stern logic oi
events.
This last issue of the Journal Of the Amer.
icdn Agricultural association opens with an
article by Francis d. Moulton, descriptive
of the dairy and stock farm of Theo. A.
Iavemeyer. Mr.. Have meyer is a wealthy
citizen of New York who has, for his amuse
ment, a farm in New Jersey upon which he
spends portion of his summers and goot
many of his dollars. He has, besides, hand
some mansion, fitted up with barn, dairy
silo, chicken house and piggery which arr
"without equal on the continent, while tn,
barn has been pronounced by good judges
equal to everything of the kind in Europe,
according to Mr.. Moulton. The provincial
idea that Europe is a standard of excel
lence in everything still possesses the minc
of "our mutual FRIEND" and somebody VIII
has seen the best farmsteads in both coun
tries ought to tell him that there are hun
dreds on this continent better in every re
spect than the best in Europe. Even on th
largest European farms the farm building
are, with monotonous uniformity, on yer
modest and economical scale. As proc
that Mr.. Havemeyer has sincere Low
of agricultural pursuits" his encomiast in
forms u3 that, although he has one of tn
finest residences in New York, and d,
lightful summer house in Newport, Rhod
Island, he yet prefers to spend "almo,
every Sunday during the summer on h
farm among his cattle and in his fields !
Looking at the matter from this POINT
continues Mr. Moulton, one Of the reason
why Mr.. Havemeyer has established such
farm as this will be understood" Surely
Once in possession of such farm, we al
told that it was in accordance with M
Havemeyer's natural inclinations that
should make it as profitable as it possibl
could be made. AS evidence of his succe:
in this direction, Mr.. Moulton gives som
statist' IS from which it appears that M
' Mayer, the superintendent, is assisted by
foreman, and employs in the management
the farm from thirty to forty men, and tn
on six hundred acres, one-half in WOO
The crops for the past year, as to qusntit
are not given, but there were ninety acr,
in hay, fifty acres in fodder corn, fifteen
rye, three in potatoes, three in peas, an
three in vetches and barley. There a
ninety acres of pasturage, and the sto
consists Of ninety-eight COWS aud heifel
3, twenty working horses, one hundred Sou
Down sheep, seventy-six Yorkshire swil
and some Chester Whites. We are to
that Mr.. Havemeyer raises hogs "prin
pally for home use." 1t looks to us
though he had undertaken a tough job
d. make farm OF this size pay with such
contingent of hired men and horses a
such a small area under cultivation, TO 8
nothing of the interest ON very heavy
yestment in fancy farm buildings aud pei
greed Jersey stock. If he gets enouI
h. money out of it all to feed and pay his he
he will come near to deserving Mr.. Mo
toms eulogium to the effect that Mr. Ha'
meyer, with his model farm and silo,
solved the problem of the agriculture
the future" and is "a practical exponent
" the new gospel of agriculture"
Succeeding Mr. Moulton's sloppy arti
comes one of very different sort, just 81
as BELTS publication seeking to occupy
position of high-class agricultural reyi
,y. This is Professor McBryde's Ancient IL
bandry-Rome and her Provinces" Mr..
Bryde is professor of agriculture, etc., in
nd University OF Tennessee, and he has
collected from ancient writers an account
the methods and implements OF husban,
in Europe when Rome ruled the wor
which demonstrate a proficiency and 5
in farming far in advance of subsequ
0 times before the opening of the present Q
tury. This article is eminently reada
- and instructive.