News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1897-06-09
FARMING NEAR THE CITY.
Editor News and Citizen

Editor News and Citizen:-
Farming near a large city is very
different from farming away back in
the country. We have found some
of the disadvantages which always
attend moving into new place, but
we find very many advantages here.
1t is hard at first for a stranger to
do business in a city. Where we had
to go only to one or two stores in
Stowe, we have to 90 to half dozen
or more. But we are getting used to
this, so that it does not trouble us.
One great help is the good roads.
We live a few rods from a plank
road, which goes directly into the
city. The streets in this part of the
city are paved with asphalt, and a
span of horses can trOt on this pave
ment with a load of a ton, except
where there is steep ascent. This
saves a great deal of time. Good
roads are an immense advantage to
farmers in every way, but good roads
are costly, the toll on the plank road
making a heavy tax. The pave
ments however are free to farmers,
and we get a good chance to travel
on them.
Most of the farmers around here
are either truck or milk farmers. A
few seem to do little of many kinds
of farming, and any man who has
any amount of land raises winter
rye. This is good paying crop on
account of the high price of the
straw, which is worth $15 to $1S per
ton. The grain is also sold for a
good price, although of late it has
been low. One advantage of living
near the city is the good markets
which it affords. Almost anything
which farmer can grow can be sold,
and if prices are low, the man who
lives nearby gets all out of his pro-
ducts that there is in them, and does
not have to pay transportation
charges. The gardeners have to
meet the competition of products
brought in from the South or farms
farther south, and this is something
of drawback. Vast quantities OF
truck are shipped in here before the
season opens, and this makes such
things very low, but still much
money is made by the truck farmers,
for people much prefer stuff grown
nearby. Milk farming seems to pay
the best, as the market is quite
steady, and prices remain about the
same. Some farmers sell their own
milk, but many sell to milkmen for
three cents per quart. This is the
way we are doing, and we like it very
much. This gives steady income
and if one wishes to go into truck
farming in connection with the milk
he can do So The farm we are on il
well adapted togardening, and we are
learning day by day about truck
farming. As rule the farmers here
are not as much up to the times il
farming as they are in Stowe. Very
few have corn planters, and they
know little or nothing of weeders
They put their manure out in liltl'
heaps and do many such old
fashioned things.
\ Wecan buy many things cheape)
here than we could in Stowe, anC
have large stocks to select from
Kerosene oil is seven cents by tn,
barrel; bran $13 per ton clutter
feed the same; piIsbury's best s. %
Schumacher xxx Graham flou
$3 %, Frtights to all nearby point
are very low. Ny chemicals for fer
tilizer were shipped from New Yorl
by boat, and the freight was only Il
cents per 100 pounds-distance IA
miles. We like here very much an,
have not been homesick at all.
j. W. NEWTON.
/ HURSTVILLE, New York