The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-08-19
THE DAIRY INTEREST.

lnE DAlN1
L NOR the past fifteen twenty years. the leading in
/ dustry of Vermont has been her dairy interest
About the middle of the present century the talented
eccentric SAKE, "poet editor and man. was asked what
the Green Mountain State exceed in of all her products
and his ready was women, and he added ENABLE
sugar and Morgan horses The present methods adopted
in the dairy have preserved standard in the produc
ton of the first named staple Continued high prices (un
til the present Year, of imported sweets have fostered
continued production up to the standard of our maple
products, and only the last Morgan horses have been
DER Swallowed by the comparatively new industry the
cow Our tables OF reference in order to show the
paratve increase OF the of Vermont for the last ten
years, yet in blank but observers who have had
opportunities to obtain information on this subject
give the numbers only slight increase over the census
returns of 1880, viz 100000 In order to show
what value this industry is to the State, we must need
compute the product and while Numbers not much in
of the period for the past decade the intelligent
farmers and darymen of the State have given their aen
ron to improved quality of stock till now in place of
yielding but $50 pounds of butter per head we find
the average brought up largely, and good large herds
whose product is than double the figures of 1880
Were advertising individual herds we could name
several of 800 pounds production and even higher and
during the past winter modest man up in of the
northern Countless showed table of records where
by care in breeding, wedding and feeding, he had
brought herd of than twenty animals ND and up
year after year, till they yielded him the almost fabulous
product of three hundred and seventy-our pounds per
head That this can be the average for the State do
contend but there is spot on earth where it can
be accomplished, if not in Vermont The sweet and lux
urant pastures exceptionally fine quality of English hav
and the ne plus ultra in water supply will prove any
that State has better prospect success in this
line of agriculture than has Vermont
Our present number Of COWS, yielding on an average
but 200 pounds of butter proporonate amount of
cheese, with population of little less number than the
giving each individual Of the State 80 pounds per
of butter would still leave us for export some
thing 5OOOO0OO pounds Of butter per year. to which
amount it would be easy matter to add by increased
production another 100000 pounds at a comparatively
small added cost 1t gives pleasure call attention
to the venture in the manufacture of butter bv the
Franklin County tanners where the output is now less
than two months after its starting, more than 10000
pounds of butter day. something like $4,000 pounds
per week. and still increasing. This venture started at
the suggestion of the intelligent Of that County has
not yet had its first anniversary and still hear Of sug-
gestions of concentrating the manufacture of butter in
Vermont until the entire output shall be made in about
four Of these mammoth estabshments-by this means
reducing the cost of making to minimum, and securing
not alone more uniform article but by concentrating
efforts and shipping in large amounts or holding in cold
storage shall best get the product into market to
better advantage than is possible and giving better
net returns to the producer than the best arranged
creameries of to-day can possibly do.
That this is not visionary has already been abundantv
proved and the white haired and matrons of
in the dairy than the past twenty-five years have made
When, in place OF the surplus of five million pounds
twenty years ago. or the present surplus of fifty mil
lion pounds of butter place hundred and fifty
million pounds of butter outside the State without in
creasng the number of cows shall feel that Yer
mont dairyng is perfect and we feel sure that
the brains of darymen capable of accomplishing
this and greater results. 1t will be shown by those
capable than the writer of this article that in the
product of cereals our State leads the list producing
corn wheat rye, barley, oats and buck
wheat per than any other State in the Union
We have already stated that her supply was all
that could be desired and that the quality of her grasses
perfection for hay grazing and feel inclined to
venture the assertion that Vermont leads the States in
the amount and value Of her dairy products per cow 1t
is certain that dairyng is only in its infancy and
what the future has in for only to be measured
by the amount of energy and intelligence DAN ymen
exhibit in their pursuit of success in this direction
Our confidence in the State is unbOunded and we have
the fullest faith that dairyng in Vermont will prove one
of the great industries which will lift the farmers of our
State out of the discomagement of to-day into the
and enjoyments of the morrow.