Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1884-01-16

fruits WN|cll h'S"' h''
even in those days. and nave kept addlnt
new yarietiesfrom time TO tlmeas they wer'
brought forth to the public by the dllIgenc'
of our nurseryman, l predicl that Sc
many aged couples would not be obliget
IN closs their days alone with their chill
dreh 50 many miles away. Perhaps yo'
NAV saw that this is not so, that 1t WoulC
make M difference, that our young mef
would leave and seek their fortunes else
where. nobwithstandin those induce
men,s which have been mentioned o.
Suggested .,,
Well for the sake Of argument we vii
admit that a portion of them ut any rate
would he obliged to leave from the lac
that there would not have been homes
cuouoh in the east for all of them, bu
would not those farms have been Wort n
enough more TO the owners TO have lullN
comp, nsated for all the money ana laool
spent on them when they came to sell
while those same farmers would nave
aldc3 greatly to the wealth of the town oN
keepinu those farms occupied rather thaf
to he lurntd out to pasture US IS tho cos'
with verv many? $780,
I know Ct II farm in our town (and mos
likely there are those of similar kinu II
this lown) that would ere this have beer
used simply for grazing and the buildings
have been demolished had it not been iol
the efforts Of one Of the owners oil Inc
farm about thirty years ago.
lie, being lover of fruit, set out few
acres of apple trees of good varieties; anc
AS Il result that farm is ranked as one o
the most productive farms in town, and il
will probably continue to be occupied anC
tiled. Notwithstanding its unfavorabe
location, rs long as the orchard that il
contains continues to yield An abundance
of fruit If even no more than it did the las
year, yielding about one hundred barrels
of saable fruit.
What treasure it would have been tr
our town If more farmers had gone and
done likewise Our schools would moi
have diminished so rapidly; our popula.
ton would be larger and our town would
have more valuation, whereby Il o have paid
its town debt
There is no locality so favorable to he
raising of fruit in the United States us l.,
New England taken rs II whole, and |
believe it behooves every farmer to adap,
himself to the r. i'ng Ct tba! particular
kind of produce to which hls particular
location seems the most natural and fitting
If you are the possessor of good, easy
tillable farm, one on which you can use ii
good share o, he modern farm machinery,
it would be we'll TO raise grain. Again il
you have Il raurally good grass farm
raise grass, but on either of these farms
quantity Of fruit to satisfy the demands OF
your own family; and unless your farm is
vastly different from most of our Vermont
farms, you will find II half acre or more
which can be used for fruit and that not to
the detrimcnt of any other branch Of hus-
bandry that you wish to pursue.
AS one is riding through almost any oI
these towns in the fall of the year, he can
not help noticing what a large per cent OF
the apple trees there are that bear nothing
but small inferior ciderapples; very many
of these trees being quite vouug anG
thrifty, which by the ,judlcious use OF the
AK and saw would make it fit subject fol
the engraler, hen with proper care and u
little work each year for a few years, lha
tree which before delied the admiltancp
of any one would, if the right cho &c OF
scions was made, be visited by nearly
every passer by.
1t is claimed by some that this common
fruit is worth gathering for lecding pur.
poses, but why not grow larger ones us
the expense would be but q trtle more
which would be fully offset in the gather
ing of them, saying nothing about the
extra value that would be obtained from
the marketable fruit. | am something d
the mind of the late j. Il. Davis OF
Weahersfeld, who said that he thought
the poorest paying business that the lar,
mer engaged in was to grog cider apples,
and hire help To pick them; hire them
drawn to the mill, hire them made ant
drawn home-put into the cellar, and al
last to hire help to drink the cider,
What truth Yet there ale very fca
farmers who have not done the same
thing. But within Il few years other and
better ways have been devised for the use
of second and third quality fruit which
every one should welcome and give it !;
hearty support by discarding the old and
adopting the new method.
| know Of many farms in New llamp
shire, and Vermont is not wholly withou
them, where there are hundreds of scrub
by apple trees growing, which if they
were d alt with as before stated would il
a few years, even from that source alone
give the owner handsome income on the
capital invested
Suppose we sit down in our homes som,
of these long winter evenings and study
over this f. uit question on our severa
farms, and see it we have not got ampu
room to grow all of the different kinds o
fruit that this Vermont soil is capable o
producing, and do it without disturbing OF
hindering the growing of all field crop
that the common farmer attempts Il
raise.
Have you any of those scrub apple tree
growing in your fields, by the fences, b.
piles of stones, or by the road side, which
are not only annoying to sight, but Prov
to be an circumference to the ground the
occupyP If not, isn't there one corner o
your field that you do not especially neeo
for tilage, that would make nice orchar'
in a few years, provided that q few dollar
we're invested III there which in few
years would pay better investment than
if the same amount was deposited in am
of our savings banks or trust companies
But if that corner cannot be spared there
is one place that can be and that is by t6'
side of that fence either between YOU
fields or by the roadside, though it woul'
be far better TO take one, two or ihre
acres lust as your means will permit. pre-
pare the ground and set your trees AM
care for them for few years until the.
get thoroughly rooted. then in after year
YOU will obtain reward.
Have yon rs many pears as you wonl,
like even for home use? If not, you will
find ample room, and one Of the best AM
surest places to grow them, on the mort
side of YOUR house, shed or barn, wher
thew will thrive much better and liv
longer than if they are set where they viii
receive the direct rays OF the sun III earl.
spring, which by lhawing and freezing i
the spring snortens the life of many tree
livery owner of house and garden ha
room for at least one half dozen trees o
either pears or plums and perhaps both
ON which nothing else could be grow
with such good results.
How about those grapes that everybod
is so fond of. just take an lmaglnar
look over your fields and most likely 70
will find very many places where IN
vines might he set aud they would thriv
admirably. Such places rs by the side