Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-02-21
AGRICULTURAL.
FARuERS AZ WESTMINSTER
Inst Weeks Mretiug Of the state Hoard
Of Agriculture.


Of Agriculture.
We gave TO our readers last week brief
report Of the proceedings Of the first day
Of the farmers meeting at Westminster,
under direction Of the state board Of agri
culture. With the report Of the second
days work we also give a somewhat fuller
and more exhaustive account of the first
day. with a glance at the points in the ad.
dresses delivered
In hi, address Of welcome NJ W
Davis alluded very happily to the historic
character Of the town and the many i'm
portnnt events which had taken place there.
aud called the attention Of the visiting
strangers to the historic localities and points
Of interest in that interesting old town
Extending "A cordial greeting 10 the visitors,
Mr. Davis said in substance
'May you aud our people clasp hands as
one noble brotherhood. in common interest
studIousy endeavoring TO unfold a better
understanding Of the oldest and noblest in.
dustry man ever pursued, the foundation
upon which all others are superstructures.
We look upon YOU as the representative az
riculturists Of Vermont who taken from
the farms. with more or less experience.
brought la contact with practical men,
with years of observation, will be able TO
bring as much practical thought With all
our natural aud acquired advantages our
people are In a state Of unrest, and we
greet you here hoping TO get from you infor
nation which shall be of much benefit, and to
find the0emedy for the numerous ills which
hinder the proper progress of our calling,
trb a.. g.. ~
We realize the greatness of our work, and
believe no nation or country can exist with
out healthy agriculture consequently
there must grow out Of the questions here
considered that which shall affect the ind-
vidual, the town, the state, the nation
While we are proud of our record in the
past, we trust that we may learn from this
meeting how to increase our crops with less
expense, render our fields more fertile. our
homes and surroundings more attractive
enlarge our assets If this is realized the
result will he higher a intelligence and a hap
pier people.
The response Of Hon. VIM Chaplin was
in "A pleasant ami appreciative vein, and
following it Mr.. Chaplin presented an ad
dress in which he considered some of the
obstacles in farming" He considered
Vermont essentially an agricultural state,
as her advantages for commerce are not
remarkable. and although facilities for man
ufacturing are abundant, the rates of trans
portation of the raw materials are an OBJ
stace Thus upon the farmer rests the re
sponsibility Of keeping up the population
wealth, prosperity of the state. The OBJ
stacles in the farmers way may be mate
rial or legal rocks, mountains swamps,
or bad laws and unjust government, wrong
custom, etc. aud these are to be removed
10y consulting together, finding the remedy
and unitedly applying it, Mr. Chaplin pro
ceeded
Though | would let the higher and
ruugher portions of our state revert back
10 wood and timber as a source of revenue,
| would remove the unnecessary trees from
cultivated fields Remove stones when
practicable the large ones by sinking OF
blasting, the small ones by filling bitches of
drainage or removing them 10 some point,
that machinery, IN its operations, NAV not
meet with hindrances. Then come the
weeds 10y the roadside and in the field bv
taking them in time, and keeping the ground
well occupied with some other crop we may
keep them in subsection. Then there are
many unnecessary fences upon the interior
of our farms that ought to he dispensed
with. The cost of repairing our fences is
estimated at 5000, 600 annually in Vermont.
The Strengthening and deepening the chan
nels of crooked brooks through our farms
and meadows might be of Importance. An
other obstacle is the condition of our soil
it wants stirring up and pulverizing. max
tnt Z htrb nd in ho hfrt,
and heat Have the best pillow, harrow and
pulverizing implement in the world. and
learn to use them. Crops in this climate
should be put in as early as possible. using
early maturing varieties then take care of
them Cold barn stables are an obstacle
they should be well lighted, with plenty of
sunshine, and water for the stock in tanks
or truughs where it will not freeze ma.
terial and moral obstacle is the detestable
mortgage upon the farm, sometimes upon
all the personal property. What is the
remedy Keep out of debt
This last point was dwelt upon at some
length, and the examples quoted of the un.
just taxation to which farmers are sub
jected, the remedy being pronounced equa
laws and equal rights
At the afternoon session Mr.. Homer w
Vail of Pomfret spoke upon Corn fodder
and ensilage, and was abb, from his sew,
eral years Of experience, to present many
practical ideas. Suggestions as to the best
location, construction and suitable size OF
sio were given, several small ones proving
more satisfactory than one too large, The
corn should be cut rather than put in whole
L.. l. L 4.
corn will keep sweet in the silo quite a,
well, though it is more work to feed it
For an ensilage crop nothing equals corn
which should be we'll matured to glazing
and in feeding should be used in connection
with other foods, such as hay, cotton seed
gluten meal, bran, to make well-balanced
ration it does not injure the milk and
product of the COW when using it, but the
use of it in winter makes the cream rise
more perfectly and the cream more churn
able Mr. Vail said he had had less trouble
with milk fever and garget since using it
than ever before, and he expressed the
opinion that silos had come TO stay, saying
that they had increased in the state fifty
per cent within the last year, and predict
ing the general use of ensilage TO supplant
short pastursge
In the discussion following, D. e. Wright
spoke highly in favor of the silo ; had in
creased his stock one fourth since having
one Chas and Fred Campbell also spoke
in high terms of ensilage for sheep as wei
as other stock Mr.. Chaplin took the
ground that fodder corn was the crop the
farmers ought TO raise to help the pastures
He knew nothing about ensilage but had
always raised and fed this crop proftably
At the evening session, after musical Sc
lections, Prof W W. Cooke of Burlington
was introduced and spoke upon the impor
tant subject of Butter making He
opened his address with an alusion to the
formerly popular water-cures for human
ills, and said that in his opinion very many
of the ills 10 butter making could be cured
by warm or hot water After enumerat
ing the many methods of raising aud churn
ing cream, he claimed that the tendency OF
the age was all toward sweet cream butter
milk in the morning, butter the same even,
ing from the same milk He expressed nc
preference for any of the more modern
methods of setting milk but seemed To be
waiting for the butter extractor. Then he
explained the use and effect of hot water
in raising the cream, and showed how by
the use of warm water the trouble of te-
dious churning is obviated thus dissipating
the belief that the cream of different cows
or breeds possessing different characters
tics cannot be prohtahly churned together
if properly handled Cream, if gathered
from several days milkings must be thor
oughly mixed, and should be kept at such
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