St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1912-01-17
LETTER PROM MINNEsOTA.

LETTER FROM MINNESOTA.
8. X. Hnse Says Vermont Has Good
Products and Should Advertise
Like the West.
Dear Editor and friends.
We left st. Johnsbury at 3.45 D..
M, October 18th on the Canadian
Pacific and without changing cars
we reached st. Paul Saturday morn
ing at 8.45 exactly on time. There
was not much to interest us on the
trip. the country through which we
passed in the day time being almost
timberless and mostly fiat and
rocky, and there were few large
towns. At Sudbury, Ont, where
there are nickle and copper mines,
the whole country looked for miles
as If fire had swept over it, destroy
ing all vegetation, even licking up
the soil leaving only scanned gray
rocks.
We were interested to see a large
freight steamer passing through the
canal at SauIt Ste Marie. OF great
length, rising we'll above the water,
with, no sign of life or machinery,
except at one end where there was
sort of pilot house and a smoke
stack towering above, she rode
slowly through the canal toward
Lake Huron. Since coming to ST.
Paul / have visited several points
of interest. Naturally the products
of the farms have appealed to me
most.
We went to the state capitol,
said to be the finest state capitol
building in the United States, and
in architectural beauty ranking
third in the buildings in the United
States, standing next to the Boston
Public library. An old soldier
greeted us at the entrance and said
that every hour a guide would be
ready to accompany us through the
building. After looking at the bat
tie flags displayed in the rotunda
and some beautifully carved marble
benches, hundreds of years old, TAX
en- from garden in Italy, our guide
took us through this magnificent
building. 1t is build from the same
plan as the capitol at Washington;
is 226 feet to top of dome with
other dimensions in proportion.
It's cost was $4,60O,O00.
1t is finished in marbles from
Minnesota, Italy, France, Egypt and
Vermont The most beautiful room
in the building is the retiring room
from the senate chamber, finished
in dull African marble with paint
ed freize of forest vistas.
In the senate chamber and in the
supreme court room Vermont white
marble is used.
In the governors reception room
are several fine historical paintings
and here we saw the silver cup
valued at $50 won by Minneso-
ia at the International Butter con-
test for butter scoring 92.88 per
cent. We remembered that Mr. |
HIATT of North Danville showed some |
butter at the state association which /
scored SO per cent and we wondered /
where Vermont came in at the In |
ternational contest. Didn't she have |
the energy to send an exhibit or If /
she did is she going back on her |
record? Minnesota is so proud of
her cup that it is shown in a fine
case in the governors room.
Agricultural College.
One day 1 went to the State Agri-
cultural college and was shown
their stock The school buildings
are fine but the barns would not
compare well with many of the
barns around st. Johnsbury,. The
cattle were tied in the basement
without any arrangement for vent
ilation, and when / was there they
were all turned out I'M the field.
They had about so cows besides
some young stock, a few Jerseys,
one Ayrshire, one Brown Swiss and
some Holsteins. This is their ex-
pertinent station and they are test
ing their animals for milk and beef.
One Jersey COW which they consider
ed their best was paying $1.4O per
week above the cost of her feed.
They did not look as we'll as the
cows in Bert Higgins or Vernon
Vance's stables nor at the Speed
we'll Farms and we wondered again
why Minnesota took the Interna-
tional butter prize At the college
they had a flock of Shropshire sheep
that were fine.
They showed me some dent corn
which they had raised and after be-
ing tested it is to be on sale for
seed. 1t was planted about the goth
of May and could be raised as far
north as Duluth which is 200 miles
north of ST. Paul, the latter city
being in the same latitude as New
port The seasons are no longer
here than there and unless Mime
sofa is more exempt from early fall
frosts than Vermont why will not
seed procured from here produce
good dent corn there? Surely Yer
mont farmers know how to cultivate
corn as well as those in the west.
The Horse Market.
/ went one day to the horse mar
ket at Merriam Park. There / saw
about 100 fine horses and they said
there were as many more ranging
in the oak woods lying about the
place There was shed, open on
all sides, large enough to shelter all
the horses from the storm. They
were fed all the corn and alfalfa
meal that they would eat and the
swamp hay was in racks near by
where they could eat what they