Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-01-31


are improved by turning in more stock.
The cattle eat the heritage close, and short
grass is more nutritive. lie strongly
recommended ensilage and sailing. He
said that he fed his COWS grain regularly,
because they gave it back to the SOIL They
carry fertilization with them-just what
that impoverished pasture needs. He said
that sheep were great fertilizers of worn
out pastures. He recommended cleaning
out the bushes from pastures entirely.
Mr.. Stone said that by feeding cattle in
the barn, and then turning them out into
a small pasture, or portion of pasture
fenced off, they would consume everything
green, thistles and weeds, and that with
these eradicated the pasture would be
greatly improved.
DR.. Wakefield of Massachusetts spoke
of renovating pastures, and described his
own experience, how he pulled stumps,
destroyed brakes, put on fertilizers, etc,
and got great return thereby. You
must, he said, put on some fertilizers If
you would expect any return. Feed your
stock grain the year round, and your pas.
lures among the rocks will improve.
Mr.. Tlnkham thought that the principles
of pas ,urage we're plain enough. Nothing
can come out of our pastures if we put
nothing in them, the cattle are continually
making drafts upon them But if we put
sheep in our pastures in the spring and
keep Them there all summer, the wastes
of nature will keep the pastures in good
condition. In the morning before we
send our cattle out let us give them some
feed, corn meal perhaps, for | have great
faith in it, This will surely prove great
Improvement for the cattle will furnish a
much greater quantity Of manure in the
pasture.
DIR. Cutting said that nothing could be
done with a pasture unless it had the right
kind of grasses, and he urged the farmers
to SOW clover or whatever else was desired,
| lie himself sowed clover seed in his pas.
ture every year, and believed it to be the
only true plan.
An invitation was extended in behalf of
Mr.. Conner to the members of the
association to visit his silos
Mr. A. W Cheever of the New England
Farmer then read paper on
FERTILIZERS
No topic is of greater importance to the
average New England farmer than the
uullcl VI VIC uSc VI lCl lillIClo ,.
There is a general impression that farming |
and especially New England farming is
not n desirable occupation to follow for
any one with any degree of ambition.
The cultivation of the soil is looked upon
as necessary evil. A clergyman recently
said to me, II always thought l would
like to be farmer if | could have good
farm, well stocked, and enough money so
that | could hire all the work DONE" This
+, fleets the general sentiment. Such was
not the sentiment fifty years ago. Were
our fathers better farmers than we?
will not admit it. One of the great evils
has been the constant cropping without
the return of anything to the soil. Such
agriculture is unworthy of the name. 1t
Is not agriculture but robbery. The days
of soil robbery in New England are nearly
past. We are compelled TO compete with
soil robbers. There are compensations
that render New England as desirable a
place for the farmer to locate as there is
in the country or in the world. The land
can be made as good and the prices for
farm products are higher. The western
people want our young men and our
money, to develop the country, and hence
they furnish glowing reports of the
fertility and productiveness of the west.
Our dwellings are better and more
comfortable than theirs and indeed as
palaces compared with them. The condi
lions of lite and living arc much more
favorable than at the west? Our people
ought TO try and build up and develop
their own part of the country instead of
The west. The question now put to the
New England farmer is, can | longer
afford to stay here when so much greater
returns await me in the west. If he stays
here he must be active and Industrious;
he must keep up with the times and the
newest agricultural ideas and develop
ments. Such men our New England
farmers are becoming A writer on
Colorado says that the average net profit
on wheat per acre there is Sc 81. Ii the
Vermont farmers cannot do as we'll as that
they certainly ought to go to Colorado.
The old eastern states are producing the
largest crops per acre in the country, and
The reason is thai our farmers are better s
farmers than can be found elsewhere. ~.
Something Can not be got out of moth
ing. The law of comp nsation is uni {
versal in lis workings. The time has not {
yet come when an intelligent farmer can |
not build as good II home for himself in I
New England as anywhere in the world. c
What New England wants is better cul- c
5ure and more OF it. The wealth that is il
aiken out of the soil ought to be put back s
into it--into more comfortable residences, t
arger and better barns, books and the t
Of living. The truth is, the t
rue principles OF farming are just begin Il
hing to be understood. Nature perpetu. v
ally restores herself she clothes her ]
'ocks with material for plant growth. She a
covers her forest floors to II great depth ?
With the richest soil, But by continually il
cropping we make the soil barren. How /
ian we sell our crops from the farm and "
still keep the soil fertiep 1t can be done. il
thirty years ago was told that farming a
II New Eng and was no longer profitable. h
did no believe it then nor DO now. We Ii
cannot follow the old system and make Il
arming profitable. The question is, what h
'rop can we raise from the soil and what I
ubslantts can we then put upon the soil b
which Will leave it at least as fertile as it l
vas before? We are pouring our wealth p
way through the sewers and sending it
Itroad in the shape of live stock and II
arm ploluce. The individual farmer H
AN do little TO check this, hut there are ii
ome things which he can DO. He can il
lave Il proper rotation of crops. Dairy W
arming is a less exhaustive form OF a
lgrlcuIture, but there are great many II
wastes in our system OF Il
LARRY Can Vermont farmers afford to p
'uy commercial fertilizers? Yes, when o
hey know what they want and how to t'
pply it, If they sell nothing but butter a
hey need little commercial fertilizers p
Otherwise they do need them and Gun not o
ford not to buy them. They can afford
feed corn to swine; and to buy grain to p
eed TO cattle. A more direct method of IT
the soil is to use the CONNER W
al fertilizers. My first experiments in ta
his direction were not eminently success. p
ul, but later have made every acre as II
critic as was the best acre hen only Il
table manure was used. Hauling stable p
manure is expensive business, and here is b.
great advantage of commercial fertilizers I'll
The benefits of these, too, are lasting. Ii G
las been my practice to give moderate II
ressing TO each crop. The commercial g
ori1 It 10,