St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-05-24
ABOUT VERMONT.
Its Record as a Grain Producing
State.

When the people of this country
consider grain growing, they are
quite likely to think of the fertile
fields Of the great prairie states of
the Middle West as the coun-
try where the soil IF tickled with the
hoe laughs a harvest" and yet that
prosaic little pamphlet issued every
month by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture and known as
the Crop Reporter, sets forth some
facts that surprise many people, tel
ling as they do in their tables OF
statistics that in the yield per acre OF
staple crops, Vermont surpasses most
of the great agricultural states of
the West.
Corn reigns as king of American
crops without a rival, and yet only
four States of the Union-and those
four in New England-surpassed YER
mont in 1910 in the yield of corn per
acre. The great corn States last year
were Illinois with 10,609,0e acres;
Iowa, with 9,473,000 acres; Kansas,
with 100000 acres; Texas, with
8,8O0,000 acres; Missouri, with 81
100000 acres; Nebraska, with 8,000,-
600 acres; Oklahoma, with $4,000
acres. Vermont with only $1,000
acres. although having the largest
corn acreage of New England, occu-
pies an Insignificant position in the
size of its fields, but another story
is told in the bushels harvested from
each acre. The yield of the big corn
States in bushels per acre was as
follows: Illinois, 1911; Iowa, 36.3;
Kansas, 10; Texas, 2O.6; Missouri,
SO; Oklahoma, Is; Indiana, 1913.
Vermont's yield was Is bushels per
acre or more than twice that of Kan
sas, and nearly three times that of
the new State of Oklahoma. That
report would indicate that there is
something besides rocks in Vermont.
Vermont's corn crop amounted to
1881, 600 bushels last year while
that of Colorado was a little less,
2,846,000 bushels and that of North
Dakota, a little more, 2,996,O00
bushels, but although the aggregate
yield was nearly the same. when COM
pared with Vermont's acreage of
$1,000, Colorado corn growers plant
ed $4,000 acres and North Dakota
farmers planted $4,000 acres. Thus
it will be seen that Vermont's yield
was twofold that of Colorado and
threefold that of North Dakota. The
price per bushel in Vermont, Deem
Der 1, was sc cents, or nearly twice
that of the banner State, Illinois,
which was 38 cents. The price in
the other big corn States was: Iowa,
SO cents; Kansas, A 5 cents: Texas, So
cents: Missouri, A cents; Nebraska,
SO cents; Oklahoma, 81 cents, Indi-
ana 40 cents. A big yield and big
price made pretty good combination
and indicates that Vermont farmers
are quite as we'll situated as their
Western brothers.
Only five States in the Union sur
passed Vermont last. year II yield per
acre of oats, two or three being in
New England and the other three in
the irrigated region of the Far West
The States of Iowa and Illinois far
exceed all others in acreage of oats
and number of bushels raised, but
Vermont raises 41.5 bushels per acre
compared with 37.8 for Iowa and SO
for Illinois The yield of Wisconsin,
is 29.S and that of Minnesota, 2S.7,
while that of North Dakota is only
bushels. The Vermont acre thus
Yields almost six times the quantity
of oats that the North Dakota acre
yields, yet many Vermont boys have
gone to the latter State to seek their
fortune.
Only six states of the Union can
beat Vermont's record in the yield |
per acre of barley and these are all |
in the States where irrigation has
made possible the cultivation of a |
rich soil that for centuries has not
been titled. The Green Mountsot !
State raises 81 bushels per acre some
US see how this compares ,Eed To he .
of the States thas arc sg5pn as aori- ,
cultural commosEF'Odltns. Nebraska
raised Is. s l0usdels of barley per acre
in 1910. South Dakota raised 1872 s
bushels Kansas raised Ii bushels, !
while North Dakota raised 5.5 bush ]
ell Surel. Vermont does not need {
TO DE ashamed of these comparative {
dsures. Only eleven States raise
more rye per acre than Vermont.
such States as Ohio, Indiana, Michi- ]
ran, Wisconsin, Kansas, Nebraska
Oklahoma and North Dakota rank
over in the number of bushels they
an raise per acre.
1T may be that the poets have not
sung much about buckwheat but
pancakes served with
maple syrup on a winter morning ;
,Leht to be an inspiration to the most
poet that ever wrote stanza I