The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-10-09
An Old Mans Words OF Wisdom.

| winch am surprised 10 see. ala not
suppose any intelligent man in the
state would deny that there has been
for many years continual decline of
the Vermont lands in production; in
other words, they have been wearing
out. Mr.. Valentine has been severely
attacked by the press and by many of
the people in this part of the state.
Colonel Hooker of Brattleboro said at
Rutland, "There are no deserted farms
in this state" This / hear said in So
cial circles almost every day. 1t may
be true, probably is, that there are but
few entire farms in the state deserted.
Some one holds deed of them all and
they have occupants. Take my town,
| Poultney, as an example; | know of but
two or three farms in the town without
occupants; but of large portion of the
back farms parts are grown up to wood,
parts to weeds and brush, which once
were cultivated, produced good crops,
but are now abandoned by the owners
for purposes of cultivation. | should
estimate these lands in the town of
Poutney at 1000 acres, and it is very
likely that Commissioner Valentines
estimate of 100000 acres in the state of
lands once under cultivation, now
yielding little or no profit, is low
enough. To this it may be added that
there are but few farms in the state,
owned by those who are called good
farmers and are apparently prosperous
IN their vocation, that are as produc-
tive as they were fifty years ago. am
old enough (seventy-four) to remem-
Der the condition of farms fifty years
ago, and several years back of that
even. l was horn on a farm where
lived and worked until / was twenty
one years old. distinctly remember
the crops raised in that time on my
fathers farm and on other farms in the
vicinity, and know the yield was much
larger than it has been in later wears.
| think l am not mistaken when | say
the farmers, especially on the back
farms, were more prosperous then than
they have been in these latter years,
fifty or sixty years ago, when it took
two or three men to do the work which
one man can do now with the improved
farm implements. In those old times
farm produce sold for nearly half, or
less than half, for what il does now,
and was paid for in barter at that.
Our advance as a nation in the last
fifty years has been wonderful. In
population and wealth; in invention,
art, science and progress, the world
has looked upon us as marvel. Yet
lands have deteriorated. Vermont is
not alone. The other New England
states are following her example in this
respect. New York, Ohio, Michigan
and in fact all the older states of the
Union do not produce as they once did.
The wheat belt is now confined to Min
nesota and Dakota. | had a letter
within a year from a friend in the
southeast corner of Dakota near Sioux
City, Iowa, which was settled thirty or
thlrty-five years ago, stating that he
could not raise the crops of wheat be
did when he first settled there. West
ern lands wear out as well as eastern,
and | believe they wear out in less
time. With all our advance, we seem
not to have learned that lands, to be
kept up in their production, must be
fertilized. If we have learned it, we
have neglected the lesson in practice.
This can hardly be accounted for in
view of our wonderful growth, our
great advance in almost every other
industry. But we shall come to taking
care of our lands ere long from neces-
sity. The time to go West, get cheap
lands and make money on their rise,
will in few years be past, and until
we can see the end of that the wearing
out of the lands in the older states will
not seem of much importance.
There are, however, indications that
a change will soon begin. The Yer
mont Legislature of 1888 appointed
commissioner to devise ways and
means to improve our agricultural in
terests and he has suggested (not
recommended) the colonization of
Swedes as means to bring our de-
serted lands under cultivation. | can
not discern what effect that project
would have if carried into effect. The
great point to be gained, it seems to
me, is to convince and make the people
feel generally the importance of putting
our farm lands into condition to pro-
duce. 1t is the Indifference of the
farmers which has allowed their farms
to run down year after year. Once
aroused to the Importance of restoring
them, they will very soon find way
to do il. Let them show the zeal that
multitudes in our state show in the
| lrOlllng morse ana our wilderness OF
WORKOUT lands and would soon blossom
as the rose.
Some of the papers of the state OPP
pose the colonization scheme on the
ground that if successful, the effect will
be to increase the farm production of the
state and thereby glut the market. l
am sorry to find any such reason offered.
No farmer can make his farm profitable
by half tilling it. If he farms it at all,
he can not make it pay unless he has it
in condition to produce good crops. /
had supposed that was self-evident.
In this connection l might suggest
that now Vermont raises but little of
its breadstuffs. have not seen piece
of wheat growing this year-neither in
my own town or towns adjoining. The
state raises only portion of its corn.
Five or six years ago | inquired of our
station agent what portion of the corn
he thought the region which is sup
piled at our depot raised. He replied,
(" About one-sixth." The production
of that crop has been on the increase