Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-08-08
GencraI Grout,s warm

Tho Vermont correspondent of the Boston
journal gives the following description Of
General Grout's farm:
His farm lies in Kirby on the north bank
Of the Moose river, sloping gradually back
in easy ascent to tho hills in the distance. It
was taken up by Theophilus Grout, the Gen
erals grandfather, in 1881, and has descended
in tho family ever since. Thoophius, by the
way, was a brother of Joshua Grout the
Major Of the regiment which Governor Chit
tendon ordered back from Plattsburg in 1872,
and the other officers of the regiment signed
the manifesto refusing to obey the Govern
or's order, and so stayed to the fight.
Soon after coming in possession of the old
homestead General Grout began upon q
thorough system of drainage, which he has
since carried out with the same tiroless ener-
gy and thorouehuess of execution which has
always characterized his work in his other
occupations in life. Drains have been dug
and tho old walls buried in them, SO far as
they would go, and tho lack made up with
tiles, till a thorough system Of main drains
and laterals takes of the water which former
| ly made large part of the land impossible
| to cultivate and practically worthless, and
leaves in one field above the road Is acres,
unbrokon by any dividing lines OF inclosuro.
Below the highway, % acres Of similar land,
treated in like manner, show like results,
and have become the very best Of land for
| grass it standing waist high, thick and rank,
es We waded through it, in marked contrast
to the thin, yellow sprinkling crop on drouth-
| pRrchod uplands, or the equally light burden
and more worthless quality on cold, boggy
meadows, such as might bo seen in the i'm
mediate vicinity and elsewhere General
Grouts experiment and success is of more
| than ordinary interest to me, for on my own
farm have tried the same thing in a smaller
| way and with the same result swamp which
was considered worthless by former owner
and which could not be driven on TO, has
now become tho most valuable portion of the
farm, producing ten times the amount of for
age it formerly did, and of az much increas-
| ed excellence in quality.
Tho General has over two miles of drain,
more than half stone, a part stone and tile
combined and the remainder tile
| His moving last season averaged about
two tons per acre for the whole 100 acres,
and will yield nearly as we'll this year.
| In 1877 he built a new barn l20xjO, with
an additional covered driveway of 80 feet to
| the upper floor, and last wear horse barn
SO feet square. Besides these he has two
other barns 3Gx5O and about 100 feet OF
sheds. In the large barn are his silos to
hold POO tons of fodder and he is a firm be-
lever in ensilage, though he feeds it but
once day and then by no means all the
stock would eat.
In his stables are about 80 COWS, mostly
grade Jerseys, and butter is the chief object
sought and the price secured is that quoted
for best Iowa creamery. The milk is set in
the Cooley method. A barrel churn is used,
the butter worked twice and packed in tubs
for the Boston market Horses as well as
cattle come in for attention on the farm, and
good blood is to be found in his pastures.