Evening star., 1907-09-02
DAIRY INTERESTS LARGEST
Gift to the Government to Encourage
Forestry.
REv1v1NG THE MORGAN BREED
Charley Taylor, the Horseman, Who
Drives Sulky at the State and
County Fairs, a Centenarian.
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.

By WILLIAM e. CUHIIS. =
Special Correspondence OF The Star and the Chicago
Recofd-Herald.
RUTLAND, VT, August %, 1907
There are no abandoned farms in Ver-
mont. Few states have such a large per-
centage Of cultivated land, and Secretary
Proctor says that its agricultural products
have as great a value as those OF all the
rest of New England combined. Farm
land Is valuable, and the farmers are pros
porous. The state of Maine, however, has
decided to follow the example Of New
Hampshire and advertise its abandoned
farms for sale to city people who can con-
vert them into summer homes. The board
Of agriculture Of that state has taken up
the matter, and g. canvass will be made
to secure a list Of all abandoned places.
with description of their conditions. their
prices and terms of sale. AS l wrote you
a few weeks ago. the state Of New York Is
doing the same.
The dairy interests in Vermont are per-
haps the largest and the most profitable.
Vast quantities of milk, butter and cheese
are shipped to New York and Boston and
bring high prices: The maple sugar In
dustry Is larger than the public 1magines
and has been increased considerably in i'm
portance by the passage OF the pure 1000
act. which has suppressed the fraudulent
manufacture of Vermont maple syrup and
sugar at Chicago. Somerville, Mass. ana
other places The yermonters are very
proud of their maple sugar exhibit at the
jamestown exposition, which Is said to be
attracting a great deal of attention
Thackeray's Curious Statement.
While reading Thackerays THE Vir-
ginians" the other day Senator Proctor.
made a curious discovery. He found that
when George Warrinton, one of the char
acters, who was captured at the battle of
Fort William Henry and taken up into
Canada, made his escape and crossed the
border into Vermont, he found refuge In
4 sugar camp running full blast In Octo-
Der.
The senator thinks this is almost as bad
as the writer who accused the Vermonters
of adulterating their maple sugar as the
dairymen of Boston adulterated their milk
by pouring water into the buckets of
sap.
his spare time in reading the narratives Of
LIE Chevalier Champlain, founder OF Can
, ada and has discovered a remarkable pas
sage in which the latter comments upon
a visit to the Isthmus Of Panama.
'One may Judge" writes Champiain.
"that If the four leagues of land which
there are from Panama to the (Chagres)
river were cut through, one might pass
from the South to the ocean on the
other side. and thus shorten the route
by more than 1900 leagues: and from
Panama to the Straits of Magellan would
be an island. and from Panama to the
so that the whole of America would be in
two parts.
This was written somewhere between
1893 and 1903.
To Encourage Forestry.
The noble science of forestry is pursued
in the state of Vermont>more asiduously
than in other parts of the country, and
with great success and profit To en-
courage and stimulate the interest Mr..
Jc-cph Battel of Middlebury. VT, has de-
cided to donate to the government of the
United States as q part of the equipment
of the experimental station of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture at the University Of
Vermont a tract of between 1900 and
5000 acres of timber land. The students
may thus have the benefit of practical in
struction and experience in forestry.
Mr.. Battel is rich bachelor. who, for
years, has been buying up the forest lands
around his country home near Middlebury
in order to preserve the scenery. He also
has been planting many shade trees along
the highways and thus beautifying that
part of the state. which has some of the
loveliest landscapes In the world. He has
recently informed Senator Proctor of his
intention to leave all of his forests and
farms to the cause Of agricultural educa-
tion under the care Of the government Of
the United States.
To Breed Morgan Horses.
ouly d year dSO odltci pTeSSLteU
Secretary Wilson of the Department of
Agriculture. for the use Of the experiment
station. farm Of 100 acres near Middle
bury. with a $4,000 stable and other build
ings and twenty pure mares of Morgan
blood for breeding purposes. The Secre-
tary accepted the gift on behalf of the
government and Congress made an appro-
priation of $4,000 for the current year
and $4,000 each for the next two years
far ho nf AUi vi fn0 fha ~
ed Morgan stock. which has gradually been
dying out by admixture. Mr.. Battel Is
publisher of the Morgan Horse Register
and the largest breeder of Morgan horses
best stock for all purposes-for trotting, for
carriage driving. for riding and for general
work-because OF their endurance, good
health, good temper. strength, steady
habits and fine appearance, points which
he claims are not equaled by any other
breed.
When he visited the state fair in Vermont
during his administration. the late Presi-
dent Harrison made speech in which he
paid striking tribute to that kind of
stock:
IF any accident happens while you are
driving a Morgan horse" he said, 'he will
stop of his own accord and look around to
see what is the matter"
One of the reasons for the decline Of Nor
gan stock, it Is explained here, is the de-
cadence of the old-fashioned country fair
colts to compete for prizes and drove his
own stations around the race track. The
trotting contests between local horses were
the most exciting events Of the year
throughout all Vermont fifty and even
thirty years ago, but the race course Is now
occupied exclusively by professionals and
Ia used for the benefit of the gambling fra
ternity rather than the horse breeders.
Founder Of the Morgan Race.
Justin Morgan, founder of the race of
Morgan horses, was a school teacher
dancing master, a barkeeper, landlord of
tavern, farmer and horse breeder in turn
He was born in West Springfield, Mass
and spent the first half of his life in that
city and it's neighborhood. When he was
about forty years old, in the latter part Of
the eighteenth century, he went to farming
at Randolph. VT, and. by mixing the blood
of the Godolphin Barb, the barley Arabian
and the Byerly Turk, he produced a colt
foaled in 17S9, that became famous and was
the sire of all the Morgan stock in this
country. The stallion lived to be thirty-one
years old, and. until its death in 1920, was
used a part Of each year for common work
on the farm and the rest OF the year for
breeding. His most famous son. Sherman
Morgan. was equally famous, and eight or
ten of his colts are found in the register
Sherman Morgan won every race that he
ever entered, and was the sire of Black