Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-08-03
An ARTIST AND EDITOR OUT
AMONG THE FARMERS.

The village artist took the editor
out the other day to show him some
of the beauties of nature, and to intro
duce him to some of his business friends
who live back on the pleasant farms
among the hills. While it would not
be best to tell all that occurred, few
iottings might not be entirely void of
interest. This is a very busy season
with the farmers. They are just in the
midst of haying, with heavy crop Of
grass and scant help to harvest 1t.
With a good pair of horses to do the
moving and carting, and third one
one to do the raking, hired man and
a boy, the most of them are gathering
in the hay from several acres daily,
and the barns are already well filled
up. Not infrequently the work is
done by two or more clubbing togeth-
er to cut one mans hay and then the
others, till all is done. We notice that
very little grain is sOwn this year, but
what is seen appears in excellent
growth aud condition. The patches
of corn, here and there, have rank
growth and promise well. Quite large
fields of potatoes are seen, and they
are looking finely. Without rust or
rot, this crop will be heavy. The pas
lures are green and stock is thriving.
So far the season has been propitious.
The amount of butter made this year
must be large all through this section.
We took a twenty or twenty five
miles ride through a section occupied
by thrifty set of farmers, many OF
whom are Scotch or their descendants.
Those who are grOaning over the un-
fortunate condition of the Vermont
farmer, and who are talking about
abandoned farms,' would find moth
ing in this section to mourn over. We
venture to say that there never was a
time in the history of this particular
section OF the country when there were
more evidences of thrift and comfort
than at this time. There never were
so good buildings, SO many large, we'll
furnished houses; never so many large
barns, and never time when the val
ue of farm products, their prices reck-
oned by the gold standard, and their
purchasing powers as valuable as to-
day. The worth of farm machinery,
dairy tools, carriages, house furniture,
organs, sewing machines, etc, not to
mention other things within the house
that the past generations never heard
| of, or hearing of, never had the abili-
| ty to purchase, far exceeds the worth
of those things in any former period.
There is another thing about this par :
ticular section of the country which
should be mentioned: the fact that
hundreds of tons of foreign feed, corn,
bran, cotton seed meal, etc, are pur-
chased every year. While the argu-
ment would seem to be that the prac-
| tice is ruinouS, the facts prove that 1t
really pays to buy foreign feed to in
crease the produce of butter and en-
rich the farm. We know of no other
way to account for the prosperity OF
this particular section of the state.
Farm stock consists largely of COWS,
with a good horse team, calves and
pigs in the stables and on the manure
pile, with a few growing heifers and
steers, and only an occasional flock OF
sheep. There is a much better feeling
among the farmers than was found a
year ago when the cattle depression
was ON, and it was almost impossible
to find sale, at any price, for oxen
young cattle and COWS. The look was
then decidedly discouraging. There
were no drovers to call for the stock;
no markets anywhere. Times are
changing; the drover is on the road
and cattle are not ashamed to look
their owners in the face. The horse
mania, which of late has been about
the country, has caused the raising OF
great many good colts, which are
finding sale at very fair prices. One
thing is well proven and well known
and that is that really good horse
will always sell at a high price. Il
farmers raise horses they can surely
make this branch of their business
profitable by keeping good !brood
mares, and breeding to the best hors-
eS.
But we were telling about the artist
and the editor. For some reason the
artist had a particular farm house il
view, which he wished to reach al
noon. After doubling the corner o.
the road, right and left, for an houl
or more, we brought up at a pleasan
farm house, where the lady gave oul
companion a very hearty greeting ane
bade us tie the horse in the stable an6
come in for rest. The Invitation
was so cordial and the surroundings 81
pleasant that neither of us had any
objection to accepting the invitation
We have made up our mind to star
out with an artist we'll laden down will
Instruments when we go out for ;
days ride among the farm neighbors
The father,a bright and sprightly mai
of So years, whom one might set a
O,came out to assist in finding home
for the horse and we set about exam
lining the farm, buildings, ano
things of interest about the farm an(
farmhouse. The owner of the place
was born in Scotland and came owe
to this country when a young man
The early settlers had pushed up int
this part of the country almost on
hundred years ago by way of the ole
Hazen military road, and had pitched
on the fertile maple ridges that sprea'
away in all directions. The farm a
which we were stopping had been oc
cupied nearly one hundred years, tn
present owner having had it in his pos
session since 1880. The old building
had given place to a new and bette
set, but here and there, in this section
some of the houses may be seen wher
the firstborn generation of the tow
were reared. An object of interes
which had, doubtless, called the ar
tist to this particular location, was
"balance rock' of considerable not
which is spoken of in some of tn
books giving the history and wonder
of the state. 1t has been visited b