The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-07-09
Editorial NOtings.

ONE of the greatest mistakes Of
school-bred men is to think that the
common farmer" is ignorant. There
is much that he does not know thai
would pay him to learn, but the world
would quickly starve if he knew moth
ing. In the details of farm work the
common farmer is often a learned man
compared with some professors of ag.
riculture
EVERYWHERE recently, IN Boston
we saw the great Sharpless straw
perry-and nearly always with green
tips. The price was higher than for
other and better berries, but seemed to
be willingly given. What fools these
mortals be-" Smaller berries, fully
ripe, were worth double, yet sold for
half Are growers to blame for sup
plying the demand when buyers are so
incorrigibly stupid?
SNIGDOMS. "-Referrng to our re-
marks about the newer early grapes,
suitable to northern New England, our
esteemed Brother Gilbert of the Maine
Farmer says: "Don't think, Brother
Hoskins, we haven't here in Maine
been through all the long list of varie-
ties a fluent linguist can name, and
tried all the snigdoms ever studied up
to Guido nature. In return we have
got bounteous harvest of knowledge,
but only few grapes. But this knowl-
edge has cost big money" Now we
submit to our friend the fact that
though he may not yet have been as
successful as he would like to be, yet
the Improvement of the native grape
is no myth. He must remember when
we had nothing but the Isabella, a later
grape than the Concord, and one rarely
ripened in Maine. Later came the
Concord, still too late to be satisfactory.
At last came Hartford, earlier, but
much inferior. Then we got Delaware,
nearly as early as Hartford, and as good
as the best. Later came the Rogers
Hybrids, some as early and good as
Delaware, and larger. This is a record
of progress, and why should it not con-
tinue? 1t is true that vines of new
varieties are often high-priced for a
few years, but they are so cheaply and
rapidly propagated that they can soon
be had for few cents each. Ii is Just
as we'll to wait for this drop in prices,
for meantime we are getting the records
of extensive and impartial tests. We
can not yet believe that good grapes
can not be found suitable for southern
Maine; and it seems to us pity that
so good man as Editor Gilbert should
lack such good and cheaply-grown
fruit. Farther north and higher up
than he, we have an abundance and to
spare of several varieties-as sure
crop as currants, and at even less ex-
pense. -
"THE farmer in politics" is not
success. We might try to flatter our
readers by attributing the fact to their
honesty; but we do not believe that to
be the principal difficulty. To tell it
just as it is, farmers do not know
enough about politics to succeed in the
practice, nor do they take sufficient in
terest. We have heard it said that
some farmers are naturally tired.
Farming never will pay such men, if
such there be in the business. But
what there is no mistake about is that
the great body of our farmers are not
acquainted with the causes of, nor do
they agree upon the remedy for, the
agricultural depression which exists all
over the country-north and south,
east and west-for it is not alone New
England farming that is I" in the soup"
Until farmers take more pride in their
business, and are able to study well its
relations to other branches of industry,
they must continue to be in politics, as
in many other things, the victims of
designing men, caring only for them
selves, and using the farmer as the
monkey did the cat in that matter of
roasted chestnuts.
JUST now the farmers are being
worked" by the silver kings, who
tell us that free coinage of low priced
silver is going to help us. These mon
archs have, no doubt, much affection
for us, but we must think that as yet
they have not so grown in grace as to
love us so much as they do themselves.
They want to fix it so that they can
have seventy-tive cents worth of their
silver made gratis into legal tender dol.