St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-06-09
FOR tf,e FARM
A VERMONT DAIRY FARM.


Farm in Derby, by DR.. II. HI. Hoskius.
The general impression in other
states in regard to New England
farms and farmers is that the former
are small and exhausted, and the
latter men of little energy, or bust
ness capacity. New England writers,
particularly those of the literary
class, are chiefly to be credited with
inducing this delusive conception
abroad. The Yankee farmer of
the average tale-writer, from Mrs.
Stowe downward to the last scrib-
bier for the STORY column" is in
reality either myth, or a survival
from long-past era. If seen at all,
it is in the back settlements" 1t is
quite safe to declare as a truth that
nowhere in America are there to be
found more good farms, or more
skillful farmers, in proportion to the
rural population, than in New Eng
land. 1t is true that the applica ton
of scientific principles and advanced
methods (suchis as seen in English
high farming) to the cultivation of
the soil has not yet made very great
progress outside of a limited circle !;
but the necessity for improvement is
widely felt, and the crowds of men
and women who flock to the farm
ers' meetings-from those of the club
or the grange. to the great conven-
tons of dairymen, to the
truth of this sta tement.
The farm of which | am writing
is among the very earliest ones
opened in the settlement of north
eastern Vermont The war of 1912
called good many men from south
ern New England up into the border
country; and the accounts brought
back by them of the vigorous forest
growth, and the prolific character of
the soil around Lake Memphrema
cog, had the effect of stimula ting its
rapid settlement-mostlv from west
ern Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
The Connecticut river was assembled
by immigrants to the mouth of the
Passumpsic; and the latter and its
tributaries followed very nearly to
the divide; from the hills of which
Memphremagog is in full view. The
immediate neighborhood of the lake,
and the fat lands around its head,
were heavily forested with giant
pines, the stumps of some of which
may still be seen by our road
sides. But a short distance to the
eastward, after ascending from this
littoral plain, there was presented
broad territory of magnificent hard
wood forests, dotted with small
lakes, and watered by sparkling
trout brooks, gathering in from the
hills to form the beautiful Clyde
not inferior in romantic scenery to
it's Scottish namesake
"Clydeside" contains $50 acres,
the arabic portion of which was first
to cultivation in the first
decade of this century by Benjamin
and it has since descended
in regular succession to the wife of
the present owner, Major Josiah
Grout, who has purchased the rights
of the other heirs. The major is a
farmers son, and an honored |
veteran Of the war for the Union
He is also an enthusiastic agricul-
turist, and if his neighbors have per-
sisted in sending him to represent
them for SO many years in the state
as to cause his repeated |
elevation to the speakership, and the |
frequent suggestion of his name for |
governorship, it certainly cannot be |
looked upon as fault in him. Well |
advanced in middle age, he has held
no self-solicited preferment, and his
personal choice is, l am sure, to be
eft to pursue his farm work, and |
carry out his carefully studied plans
or the development of his broad
acres OF arabic pasturage and forest
territory,
One Hundred and five of these acres |
are under the plow-much the larger
part in one great level field in the
rear of the dwelling-house, which
stands on the main street of the vii
age of Derby Center. Four hundred |
and twenty-five acres are in pasture.
and 100 in woodland On the latter
are found fully 1000 sugar NAPLES, i
Of winch Il $500 are utilized in the
production, by the most approved I
methods, of over 5000 pounds Of !
choice sugar each spring. The hay !
harvest averages 200 tohs yearly, of
the choicest quality. twenty-five
acres are annually planted to corn
for feeding, yielding from $50 to 175
tons of dry fodder. A portion OF
this goes into silos; but the greater
part is drawn in from the field, cut,
steamed, and fed out to the cows in
milk. The yielding capacity of this
farm increases continuously, and is
now several times more than it was
10 years ago. The pastures, also,
have been greatly improved by the
determination of weeds, thistles and
bushes, and under a systematized
grazing, which IS neither too close
nor too slight.
Seventy cows-all registered A. ].
c. c, or grades-are kept for butter,
ranging from heifers about to come
in, to old COWS to be soon eliminated
from the herd Allowing for heifers,
the going-out and coming-in periods,