Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1893-02-02
THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
The Meeting Held at South Stanford
Farming Compared With O.her
CafliuOc

The Meeting Held at South Stanford
Farming Compared With O.her
Caflings.
The Board of Agriculture was welcom
ed at South STAFFORD on Friday last, Jan
20, by the chairman OF the meeting, Mr.. Il
L. Hatch. He said that this is the money
making age; that the farmers son often
longs to leave the old farm and launch out
in business, regardless of the fact that he
is apt to succeed at home. He has heard
of the Oriental who sold his farm for q
song and sought long and unsuccessfully
| for diamonds in many countries, only to
return and find that his own farm had be-
come valuable diamond field; but he fails
to see any application to himself Times
and methods have changed and the sue
cessful man of the day must be hustler.
The merchant and manufacturer put
money into the newest and most improv
ed materials and the successful farmer
sees the advantage OF machinery over
hand labor, of intensive farming of breed
ing to some purpose, of striving to make
each years products better than the last,
of putting heart and hand into his work.
In my estimation, the minister exhorting
from the pulpit, the lawyer pleading at
the bar, and the doctor by the patients
bedside need less diversified knowledge
than the man who thoroughly UNDER
stands the varying adaptabilityof his farm,
who manures and cultivates it to its full
capacity of production, who knows the
varying needs of his animals, who can
successfully market his products, who is
up in the many specialties that make up
the farming of to-day. The State of Yer
mont has a diversified soil adapted to all
kinds of stock raising, a country where
drouth cyclones and locusts are unknown
and people whose blood and stock are Of
such merit that wherever one goes it is
only necessary to say be is a Nermonter to
insure his welcome. An endeavor has been
made OF late to check the exodus OF Yer
mont's best sons and daughters, and /
trust that demonstration OF her capabil-
tiles Will awaken in every farmer the feel
ing that his own farm is a diamond field
in which the harder he digs the more he
will get. Mr.V.I. Spear Of the board gave
an interesting talk on"Sheep Husbsndry,"
which was discussed in part as follows:
Mr.. Burnham.-W What do you think OF
Shropshires?
Mr.. Spear.-I think that they cross bet
ter thanany other breed with our merinos.
They have many good qualities which
well adapt them to Vermont. They are
smaller but herd better than Cotswolds,
and produce medium wool which is now
much in demand. Their feeces, however,
are not heavy.
Have you ever crossed these heavy
breeds on merinos?
Yes; flor three years have crossed Shrop-
shire on old merino ewes with fairly good |
results, the lambs making good mutton |
lambs. do not, however, cross my first |
class merino ewes with Shropshire, grow |
ing and breeding from the progeny; for |
cross of two thoroughbred lines never |
works well in breeding.
Mr.. Burnham.-Do your merinos pay as
well as others, all things considered7f
Mr. hot 3 fet1
iible to raise them with both wool and
mutton in view, and do as well as with
,oarser wooded sheep. But as a rule be-
ieve that breeders viii do better with the
after.
Mr.. Burnham.-I haven't much faith in
mutton sheep, unless one has special
market for them.
Mr.. Spear. The market for early NUT
on lambs is not confined to any locality
You don't have TO seek the market, it seeks
or you. A few years ago mutton was
hardly quoted, yet now Ii Is the highest
'riced meat sold, particularly il it be lamb
mutton. This puts new phase uponthe
heep question, one we must pay attention
o. IL tha sheep only make good mutton
re can grow wool at present low prices.
! pound of mutton can be grown as cheap
y as pound OF beef and the wool IS
brown in. The sheep mature earlier and
axe less feed.
Mr.. Hayes.-What is the best grain feed
or breeding ewes?
Mr.. Spear.-Ground oats are perfect but
DO costly. feed bran, cob meal and oil !
zeal, feeding it dry. prefer to feed the
helled corn whole sometimes, so that the
lronger sheep will not be as liable TO get |.
II the grain.
Mr.. Hateh.-How much ens'lage do you
sed your breeding ewes? H.
Mr.. Spear.-A bushel to 20. The ensilsge {
not heavily cared.
Is IL better than hay?
Not better, but more succulent. Roots .
re expensive TO raise and handle and the {
heep do as well on the ensilage.
Mr.. Burnhem.-Do you advise wrinkled ..
heep? l
Yes; hut the day OF small wrinkled greasy :
1eep has gone by. There is only limit !
! demand for them. Australia may de-
land them, but the West wants first Of all !
such as our smaller merinos !
D not have. Australia takes, perhaps, 100, '
he West, 900 yearly, AMI we should breed J
n the latter. Grease and wrinkles have !
rought lots of money into Vermont in !
he past, but we must breed away from \
lem now and seek constitution.