The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-08-30
planting to apple trees, or in some
places to pear and plum trees.


WHILE we are we'll aware that some
of these rocky orchards, in the hands of
skilled orchardists, have been very
successful, we must believe that there
is some exaggeration in saying that
fruit trees " do best "under such condi-
tons. 1t is remarkable, and certainly
proof of great .skill in the manage
ment of such orchards, that such excel
lent results have been attained. But
every intelligent fruit-grower knows
that there are many costly inconven-
fences attending the gathering and
handling of the fruit grown upon rocky
hillsides; and that when inaccessible to
wheeled vehicles a great expense will
attend much of the work; while the
lack of manure will surely show itself
in the size and quality of the fruit, to
say nothing of the increased expense of
spraying the trees, which seems now to
be an important factor in successful
orcharding.
IT is very satisfactory to observe the
increasing willingness of legislatures to
respond to the demands of agriculture
in matters of legislation; and it is only
necessary, in most states, for the farm
ers to agree as to what is required in
this way in order to get it,-unless some
big corporation finds its toes trodden
on in the operation. When this hap
pens, the farmer has very little chance.
He may get bill passed, which seems
to be all right; but when it is tested,
flaw will be pretty sure to be found in
it, somewhere, that will prevent its sue
cessful operation. Our legislatures are
all led by lawyers; and lawyers will
always work for fees, in the legislature
as we'll as elsewhere. When it comes
to money, and the skillful use of it to
control legislation, the farming interest
stands pretty poor show.
A VERY strong law has been enacted
in Russia to prevent horse stealing. 1t
provides that every horse owner shall
take certificate from the police or the
authorities of his rural district attest
ing his rightful ownership. If the
horse is sold, this certificate must be
produced and transferred to the name
of the purchaser. The one who sells
horse is 10 be held responsible for his
good condition, and he must return the
purchase money and pay fine if he
deceives the buyer.
CHAPPED hands are frequent on
the farm. A good and cheap rem
edy is recommended, as follows, by
writer in the Stocknaan Dc Farmer. He
says: "I keep small bottle of glycer-
inc where it will be handy. When 1
wash my hands I am very careful to
wash them clean, then wipe them
about half dry, and Immediately pour
little glycerine in one hand and rub
them until it is all rubbed in. If this
is faithfully done three times day,
you will be surprised to find how soft
and white your hands will become"
Low wheels are recommended in
some of our exchanges for farm wag-
ons. One writer says: "My wagon
has thirty-six-inch hind and twenty
eight-inch front wheels, and two and
one-half-inch tire. l should like a
wider tire. make my hay racks as
low as possible, and by bringing the
front of bed pieces in about six inches
on side can turn around as short as
the reach will allow without cramping
on the rack any. In drawing manure,
and, in fact, in all farm work, the low
wagon is much more convenient than
the ordinary farm wagon. You that
have an old wagon cut down the wheels,
put on wide tires, and see how con-
venient it is. A high wheel that is a
little weak will do good service when
cut down. True, they draw little
nuluOi3 Uut ~ hohOo lhy WOih SdolCI W
load them and keep the horses to help
with my work as much as they can"
IN the agricultural exhibit at Chi
cago thirty-fve foreign nations are
represented. In the spaces assigned to
each nation Great Britain heads the list
with 14,7S7 square feet for her exhibit,
Germany comes next with II ,S75 square
feet, while the space allotted to France
is surpassed by that granted to Austria
liza and Canada.
"To break horses from pulling at the
halter" says the Stocknaan, "procure
strong fve-eighths inch rope about
twenty feet long. Tie around the body
directly back of the forelegs in a free
slip-noOse knot Pass the remainder of