St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-09-24
VERMONT FARMS
Publicity Department Advertising
The States Agricultural
Resources

~ NAC SECRETARY VI kO(dlO VI
flee to be issued this year is ''ver.
mont Farms" containing more than
125 pages which has just come
from the press, the printing having
been done by the CaIedonian Press
of St. Johnsbury. The greater part
OF the book is devoted to a setting
forth in considerable detail of the
resources and opportunities of Yer
mont agriculture. This is followed
by long list of free publications
having bearing directly or in
directly upon Vermont agriculture
and by list of 233 farms and resi-
representing every one of the four
teen counties in the state.
The book endeavors to correct
some of the prevailing misconcep-
lions regarding Vermont farming.
One of these is that Vermont farms
are small, and the census figures
are quoted to show thai the size of
the average Vermont farm is 142 6
acres while the size of the average
farm in the United States is only
1881 acres. Only two of the great
farming states in the Central West
surpass Vermont in the size of the
average farm. A few census facts
are quoted relating to area, popu-
lation, value of farm property,
crops, domestic animals, etc.
No Abandoned Farms
An interesting and valuable ar
ticle on Vermont soils by Prof. J. L.
Hills, Dean of the Agricultural Col
| lege of the University of Vermont,
/ iC hndind N he This oP
ticle, prepared for the book by Pro-
fessor Hills, shows that there are
practically no abandoned farms in
| Vermont with the exception of GER
tain areas that are better fitted by
nature for forestry than for agricul-
tural purposes. He shows why Yer
mont soils are more fertile than
those of some other states and calls
attention to the fact that Vermont
is far in the lead of other New Eng
land States in the matter of agri-
cultural advisers and that few states
in the Union are as well covered
as Vermont in this sort of public
service. An article on expert aid
for farmers written by Hon. E. S.
Brigham, State Commissioner of
Agriculture is quoted in this con-
nection and shows what excellent
progress Vermont is making.
The subject of dairying is treated
at considerable length and facts and
figures are quoted from census re-
ports and publications of the
United States Department of Agri-
culture which show that taking in
to account area and population Yer
mont is the leading dairy state in
the Union. This state stands at the
-
COW testing associations being tied
with New York for first place when
the last report was made While
exact reports could not be obtained
regarding the shipment of milk
outside of the state, reports from
two of the leading railroads and
estimates for the third important
railroad based on the reports for
the other two indicate that in the
year 1912 practically 100000
quarts of milk and 100000 quarts
of cream were shipped out of Yer
mont
The opportunities for raising beef
cattle are also set forth.
How Vermont Stands
A series of tables is published,
the first of which shows that Yer
uOuL l6dQS Tie OHlOu III Tic IdL1O
of dairy COWS per population, having
one COW to 1.3 persons. The only
states that approach this record
are Iowa. Wisconsin and South Da-
kota with a ratio of one to 1.5
Vermont makes a notable record in
pounds of butter per capita, with
record of 96.6 pounds. No other
state approaches this record. Only
three states produce half as much.
Minnesota with 595 pounds, Iowa
with 572 pounds, and Wisconsin
with Sc. pounds. Only six states
produce a third as much, and only
eight states produce a fourth as
much per capita as Vermont. Yer
mont's average production of pounds
of butter per farm is 1,112.6. Only
four states produce half as much,
only seven states a third as much,
and only fifteen states a fourth as
much. Vermont leads the Union
in average number of pounds of
butter per COW with 1888 pounds.
In pounds of butter per square
mile, Vermont is far in the lead of
any other state. In dairy cows per
square mile, only one state leads
Vermont, and in all cattle per
square mile only two states lead
Those persons who think Vermont
farms are not fertile will do we'll to
peruse the tables given, showing
the average yield of staple crops per
acre and the average price paid for
such crops. Last year only eight
states raised more bushels of corn
per acre than Vermont For the
past four years the average number
of states raising more corn per acre
than Vermont is six Vermont's
average Weld for the four year peri
cd mentioned was nearly twice the
average yield for the whole country.
The average price in Vermont paid
farmers December I for the past
four years was 43.6 per cent, great
er than the average price paid
throughout the United States. Dur
ing only one year of the aforemen-
toned period did one of the big
corn states surpass Vermont's yield
of bushels per acre. For the FORTY
49, 1914 10nO -