Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1897-02-06
VERMONT FARMERS.
Board of Agriculture Meets.

The state board of agriculture has for the
past week been holding meetings in Wind
sor county. There was two days meet
ing in Woodstock, another at Bethel and
days meeting at Sharon. The Sharon
meeting was the largest and best The
storm caused light attendance at Bethel,
because of bad roads and partly, no doubt.
because of other things. 1t is found that
towns.
Vermont has had a somewhat long and
varied experience with sundry forms of
boards Of agriculture aud superintendent
of agriculture and what not, but the present
organization, which has been running a
considerable number of years, was the first
to amount to anything or get the confidence
or respect of farmers The board was
originally composed Of six members ap-
pointed by the governor, with the governor
himself and the president of the Burlington
university ex-otficio members. The i'm
proprety of having the governor sit as a
member of commission of his own ap-
pointing is obvious, and was recognized by
the legislature last fall. And, as the Gus
tom is to appoint on the board professor
in the agricultural college," the practical
result of the whole arrangement is to give
the control Of the board to Burlington in
any respect thought worth having. How
ever, nobody questions the propriety of
having an agricultural college man along
he naturally takes the scientific part of the
work, and has all along been found valu-
able member of the board Prof. Hills is
the present incumbent. When the cattle
rrorE on tho band -,
1894 the governor was authorized to ap-
point two more members, with the idea Of
thus meeting the extra duties. Gov. Wood
bury did not make the extra appointments.
but Gov. Grout did and the board now has
eight appointed members. This makes
rather an unwieldy body for single meet
ing, but with SO large a force it is impossi-
BILE to divide and run two meetings at once,
and that is constantly done. Hence more
meetings are being held this winter than in
previous years, and they will be ended
earlier in the season.
The report is that the meetings this win
ter rouse as much interest among farmers
and are as valuable as ever, but that every
where the farmers complain bitterly of low
prices for their products and consequent
hard times. 1t is the mission of the board
to suggest remedies for this financial trou-
BILE. In general way the suggestions are
naturally in the direction of keeping up
with the procession and making the most
of the advantages at hand.
OF course after the poverty and prva-
ton incident to settling in the wilderness
wore away farmers went on producing
nearly everything they ate, wore or used,
but with little money. Away back in the
early days of such things Nathan Gushing
Of Woodstock, who fairly had genius for
farming as his wonderful success in the
face Of obstacles showed, bought merino
ram lamb and had it feeding about his
dooryard. Farmers in the vicinity regarded
the black, insignificant looking little beast
with contempt as well as curiosity, but
nevertheless its coming marked the begin
ming of new era Mr.. Gushing himself
and several other enterprising farmers in
the vicinity soon became breeders of pure
merino stock and made lot of money in
the business. This was all very well, but
n great general result OF the introduction
of the breed of sheep came in the form of
fine wooded grades on almost every farm
in the county The price of this wool was
such as to make sheep raising very profit
able, and the average farmer bad his single
large item of cash receipts in the year
from the sale of his clip. Finally the war
came, wool ran up to 81 pound, and
sheen was a fortune. But when the war
ended the whole sheep-raising industry
practically ended with it. Some stock has
been bred for sale in the west, and OF
course a little money got for wool, but the
old merinos have been steadily disappear
ing until now even small flock is rarely
seen.
But before this, away back in the SOS, a
Massachusetts crank named John Page
had brought to the adjoining town of Penn
fret Jersey bull, and arranged to have it
kept there. The beast was regarded with
hardly more favor than was Mr.. Cushing's
merino ram, but it had good blood and its
descendants may be found there now.
Jersey dairying began and became in way
the fashion, and even during the war some
farmers were making large profit from it.
Jerseys spread more and more and now
the dairying interest is very large in that
section.
But the price Of butter has fallen with