The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-09-25

mont lands are unsurpassed.
i Vermont deseryedly stand at the head
as butter and cheese producing State.
Over 100000 cows are devoted to this
purpose, making 35,000,000 pounds of
butter, and 100000 pounds of cheese
annually. Vermont makes more pounds
of butter, per COW, than any other State;
more butter per farmer and farm, than
lis produced elsewhere. The statistics
relating to this industry are interesting
and instructive. The very best butter
made is in Vermont, and the very
highest prices are paid for it. Cream
cries and cheese factories are established
in every county, and are rapidly in
creasing in number. These lessen the
work of the farmers wife, and yet do
not lessen his income. Our pastures
extend 10 the tops of the mountains
and furnish the greenest and sweetest of
grass, and therefrom our cows yield the
the richest and best of milk. Skill,
born of intelligence and experience,
characterizes our butter and cheese
makers. Nor is this all. 1t pays
and the market for the "gilt
edge" products of the dairy is seldom
overstOcked. Those whose judgment
should be conclusive in the matter, say
that the price of butter rarely reaches so
low point as not to net good profit.
The dairy is the Vermont farmers best
resource. Some lands not profitable for
raising grain or fruits and vegetables for
market may be well adapted for the
dairy. The product of the dairy need
not appear in butter and cheese alone,
as the people of our prosperous villages
and cities are consumers of milk in ever
| i,o inn nnaufifiau or,I 10 ~ Nf
other States are not too far distant to
use the milk from many of our farms.
The importance to the State of its
dairy interests cannot be overestimated.
The Dairyman's Association is doing a
good work in bringing these facts to the
knowledge of our people, and in the
diffusion of information relating to the
best breed of cows for dairy purposes.
The Associations influence is valuable
in causing the introduction of the best and
most modern appliances for butter and
cheese making, and in its insistence that
the dairy business be conducted on
business principles, without which no
enterprise can be managed with
success.
In the future of Vermont the dairy
must, as now, lead all other agricultural
interests, and the more rapid its devel
Opment the more rapidly will our uncul
tivated fields be brought under cultiva
tion and bring wealth and contentment
to those who till the soil.
Akin to the dairy interests are those Of
sheep and horses. Many farms, not wei
adapted to the dairy, are admirably
suited for sheep. We have only abou
$50, 900 sheep in the State, producing mo-
far from 2,450,00 pounds of wool. The
present condition of this industry is tC
be regretted, for the past has demon
strated Vermont's capability as sheep
raising State. In this particular Yer
; mont stood foremost, and from hel
. sheep-folds went out the rams to improve
the tlocks, not only of the United Statel
but of Australasia and other foreign
countries. Vermont is known as one o.
the best States for fine-wOoled sheep
and her rams to-day command thu
highest prices for breeding purposes.
Forty years ago the raising of horses
was leading industry. The 'MorgaI
horse'' had worldwide reputation, anC
now the horses raised in Vermont are o.
no small importance. There are IL, ,00I
horses in the State, Good, serviceabll
rOadsters and draught-horses are alwayi
saleable at high prices, and it is an ad
, mitted fact that the horses of the hill
are superior to those of the plains, anC
Vermont presents all of the condition.
favorable to a horse e-breeding State. The
Horse Breeders Association is doing
lgood work in raising the standard of Oul
horses, and also in showing the impor
portance of the industry as a factor il
our agricultural prosperity.
Thepoultry interests are of much more
Importance thanis generally supposed. Ii
some sections turkey raising is source
of an Important part of the farmers in
come. In our cities, Vermont turkey
being the highest prices, their reputation
being such as to tempt unscrupuloui
dealers to sell inferior turkeys from
other States as from Vermont. Reliable
stable statistics are not at hand, but il
is estimated, by those in. position Il
judge best, that not less than 81, 0,00'
turkeys are sold from our farms eacl
year. The sale from hens eggs aggre
gate 100000 dozen representing owe
100000 hens. The amount of all poultry
sold annually is over $500, 900 pounds
! exceeding the States product of wool il
pounds. ... ...... -
Vermont also leads in the making o
maple sugar, producing 12,600,000 eacl
year, it being more than one-third of al
that is made in the United States; anC
even this product is but small fraction
of the possibilities for sugar making
, in the State. Good judges considet
that 60, 100000 pounds can be produced
by the farmers of Vermont.
, Cereals and other products are raiseC
with success in the greater part of tn,
, State. AS many bushels of corn, wheat
oats, rye and barley are produced il
Vermont, per acre, as in the Westerl
!; States, and the prices received per bushe
are very much greater. Corn il
, Nebraska seldom exceeds 20 cents pc
, bushel, while here it is seldom less thar
: 60 cents. l........-, ....
{ The Commissioner is aware that ther
r is nothing new in these statements, hi
| object being to illustrate the fact tina
!, Vermont's location, soil and climate ar
r especially adapted to certain in
i dustries.
: l., IMMIGRATION CONSIDERED. .
For many years the Commissioner ha
travelled eXtensivelythrough the Westeri
. States and watched their development
| making note of the people of variOu
. natiOnalities on the broad prairies. Hi
attention has been called to the thrifty
| hard-working, honest Scandinavian
7 especially from Sweden. This class o
/ Immigrants came from county clOsel
. resembling Vermont, in soil, vegetation
: configuration of surface and nature o
: climate, though the last is much NOR
4 rigorous in Sweden than in Vermont
They are we'll educated, and hasten b
3 have their children attend school wher
English only is spoken. They readil
Q and quickly assimilate with our people
. and become Americanized sooner thal
. any other class of immigrants.
i They are temperate in their habits an,
r are religiously inclined. They ar
peaceful, mind their own business, pa
their debts and are never objects of pub
lie charity.
The thought occurred to the Commits
sioner that many of this class Of immi
Q grants might be induced to settle on tn
cheap lands Of Vermont, provided i
2 could be shown to their satisfaction
that at least some of these lands wer
: susceptible of successful cultivation.
\ 1t is probable that but few of tn
sons of Vermont in other States, will
y return for permanent residence, and tina
the tendency of our ambitious youth b
4 seek wider field for their labors vii
for the present continue. In view of al
the facts, it occurred to the Commits
s sloner that the effort was worth maxim
n to induce the class mentioned to pun
s chase and settle upon some of the bes
!, OF these so-called abandoned farmi
It The success of the enterprise would, Il
d great measure, depend on the frs
IS coionists; and If they were satisfied
their friends would soon follow, and th
experience of the State of Maine in tn
= same direction would be realized !
I Vermont To be sure, in Maine til
!, State owned the land offered for settle
IL ment, and could make such arrangI
: ments and hold out such inducements Q
she saw fit. We're the lands under col
sideration in this State owned by IL