The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-12-27
Editorial N0tings.

Editorial Notings.
THOUSANDS of our Vermont farmers,
as well as many more of our readers in
this and other states, will be pleased to
learn that Mr.. T. d. Curtis, late the
agricultural editor of the Manchester
On. H. Mirror and Farmer, who some
time since was compelled by serious ILL
ness to retire from that position, has
measurably recovered his health. He
is now residing in the city of Milwaukee,
Wis, and in recent private letter to
the agricultural editor he says: &C. am
not weu, but so far recovered that l now
begin to hope that the opening of warm
weather will see me able to resume a
moderate degree of work" Mr.. Curtis
is very widely known as an agricul-
tural writer and speaker, but he has
especially endeared himself to the
dairy farmers of Vermont by his con-
slant attendance and helpful aid at 1--WE
think every meeting of our Dairymen's
Association. He is well known to
every enterprising farmer-for all such
attend these meetings-as an interest
ing speaker and a learned teacher of
dairy science and practice. He was a
pioneer in cheese-making in the state
of New York; and in his time, and I'M
der his teaching, American cheese had
a name and fame which it sadly needs
to regain in these days of" half-skims,"
and stuffing." We hope to hear of
Mr.. Curtis rapid progress to the full re-
covery of his health, and that we may
again see his genial face, and hear his
words of wisdom and cheer, at future
meetings of our progressive farmers.
WE are glad to see that Mr.. John
Craig, who is at the head of the Domin-
ion experiment station at Ottawa, and
who was pupil of the late Charles
Glib, and later of Professor Budd of
Iowa, is becoming frequent contrib
utor to Mr.. Woolverton's excellent
Canadian HorticulturiSt. We hope his
light will continue to shine there,
"more and more unto the perfect day"
when the "Cold North " shall have be-
come the great orchard region of Amer
lea.
MR.. CRAIG notices Banks Red
Gravenstein, which is said to have
been propagated from a sporting"
branch of the old Gravenstein. This
is the first case we have noted of a new
and valuable variety of apple produced
in that way; although we do not see
why such should not be quite common.
If we could get a sport from Scott's
Winter apple, for instance, that would
increase its size third or more, or of
the Wealthy that would keep better, it
would be of great value. And, speak
ing of SCOTS Winter, it is such hard,
sour apple all winter that we do not
wonder it is so generally rated as barely
"good lin quality. Although we were
the introducer of the apple, we have
never demurred to the general verdict
on its dessert quality, because that was
long exactly our own opinion of it. GA
mans wife is sometimes quite useful to
him." is an observation made by con-
sentative old neighbor of ours, which
sal xHTau II. l..
of it; and this was proved to us once,
at least, when our " better half " per-
suaded us, after two or three years.
trying, to taste well-kept Scott's Win
ter in April or May. Any of our read
ders who are growing the Scott, simply
as a late pie-apple, might do well to
make the same trial. 1t is one of the
best of keepers. We often see them in
perfect order, but with the acid nearly
all gone, as late as June. They have
been kept sound until August, but are
then almost tasteless.
WE begin to think a great mistake
has heretofore Deen made In not giving |
more attention in this department of
the paper to fruit-growing. There are
'Agood many more of our readers inter-
ested in it than we had supposed; and
as it is our hobby, and we are getting
pretty close to our "three score and
ten," some may be sorry that we have
been set going in that direction. A
lady correspondent writes, in an another
column, on grape culture, -stirred up
by Brother Towles letter. Let the
good work go on. With the help of the
many new, early, and hardy sorts of all
kinds of tree fruits, native and Russian,
the next generation will not see fruit
growing in Vermont limited TO the