News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1892-06-23
TERMS S1.5o.
A VERMONT DAIRY FARM.
DESCRIPTION oFMAJoRJos1AH eporr,

= states in regard to New England
farms and farmers is thaC the form
' er are small and exhausted, and tn,
latter men of little energy, or bust
ness capacity. New England writer's
, particularly those of the literary
class, are chiefly to be credited witt
inducing this delusive conception
abroad. The Yankee farmer of tn,
average tale-writer, from Mrs. Stow,
downward to the last scribbler foI
the "story column" is in reality
either a myth, .or "a survival from
a long-past era. If seen at all, it is
IN the "back settlements" 1t is
quite safe to declare as q truth that
nowhere in America are there to be
found more good farms, or more
skiilful farmers, in proportion to the
rural population, than in New Eng
land: 1t is true that the application
OF scientific principles and advanced
methods (such as is 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 farmers
meetings-from those of the club or
the grange, to the great conventions
OF dairymen,- testify to the truth of
this statement.
The farm of which | am writing is
among the very earliest ones opened
In the settlement of northeastern Yer
mont. The war of 1912 called a
good many men from southern New
England up into the border country;
/ and the accounts brought back bv
them of the vigorous forest growth.
and the prolific character of the soil
around Lake Memphremagog, had.
the effect of stimulating its rapid
settlement-mostly from western
Massachusetts and Connecticut. The
Connecticut river was assembled by
immigrants to the mouth of the
Passumpsic; and the latter and it's
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 fiat lands around its head. |
were heavily forested with giant
pines, the stumps of some of which
may still be seen by our roadsides. |
But short distance to the eastward
after ascending from this literal
plain, there was presented a broad
territory of magnificent hardwood
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 its Scottish
namesake.
"Clydeside' contains $50 acres.
the arabic portion of which was first
subjected to the cultivation in the
first decade of, this century by b.
Hingman, 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 veter.
| an of the war for the Union. He is
| also an enthusiastic agriculturist,
and if his neighbors have persisted
in sending him to represent them for
so many years in the state legisla-
ture as to cause his repeated eleva-
tion to the speakership, and the fire.
quent suggestion of his name for
Governorship, it certainly cannot be
looked upon as a fault in him. Well
advanced in middle age, he has held
no self-solicited preferment, and his
personal choice is, / am sure, TO be
left to pursue his farm work, and
carry out his plans for the develop
ment 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 |
lage 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,
of which $500 are utilized in the pro-
duction, by the most approved
methods, of over 5000 pounds of
choice sugar each spring. The hay
harvest averages 222 tons yearly, of
the choicest quality. Twenty five
acres are annually planted to corn
for feeding, yielding from $50 to IT'S
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 oct 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. j.
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,
and removals, so may be given as
the average constantly in milk. At
their head are the two registered Jer-
sey bulls. The butter product for
the past year was 10000 pounds,
an average of 240 pounds to each
cow above four years of age-two
two-years old or ~ three years old,
being counted as one. The butter is
made by the Cooley system, and the
churn, as well as other farm machin-
| cry, 10 ODcIdbCu bg a obNehhA NhfNaAS ~
six horse power.
About thirty hogs are kept to con-
sumo the wastes of the dairy and inn
prove the manure. About 20 of the
best heifer calves are raised annual
ly. Forty horses of all ages are
Kept, the aim being TO raise good
drivers. There is a flock of Shrop-
shire sheep. A large field of rutaba-
gas is grown ond fed to the young
stock, or cows not in milk. One
acre of potatoes only was grown the
past season yielding fully $50 bush
els. The maple sugar is put up in
tin pals or cakes, and marketed
west, at from 8 to II cents "a pound.
New grass sod is top-dressed, either
with manure or phosphates, with
good results. For corn, both man
ure and commercial fertilizers are
used. Ashes prove TO be good FER
tilizer on this soil.-Rural New Yorker.
Vermont Attractions.
| DaoantIv tba Statn commissioners