The Press., 1913-11-19
WILMINGTON
Minneapolis, Minn., Nov. 4, 1913.

I want to tell you how much I en- joyed your Wilmington column last week, and especially the account of aggerate just the least bit when you told of having corn stalks IS feet tall from the Seth Schofield farm? And I want to know where the farm is; I don't recognize it. In my early days the Chester Fenton farm was oonsid- cred as one of the best in town, and besides he had the best chestnut tim Der lot of clear virgin chestnut timber that would give good shingles such as they used to shave shingles from, and such as Capt. Sharp wanted to make good sawed shingles from. I don't suppose that one can find single tree of real first growth chestnut in Will lington. It is an old saying that con- petition Is the life of trade, and it is we'll to apply 1t to farming compe- ' tition in the line of doing the very best farming and getting the hest re- suits. recall the early days of the old Holland county fair, that was held in Holland Street in the early fifties. l may not he correct, but think that 1t was originated with Ephraim H, Hyde As president. I recall the town teams of oxen and herds of COWS and young stock, and l recall how that one fall tho late Wm Holman s two oldest aons. Merriok and Samuel, entered a fine pair of Devon yenrlings, nicely matched and we'll broke to the yoke. I recall that ono fall the Gov entry town team won the first prize. The farmers nsed to raise some very fine native cattle. Marcus Johnson was the first to introduce the short horned Durham cattle in Wilmington about 1S8S-9. In the forties Capt Sharp and Wm, Shatfer were cOnsid- cred the best fixed of any one in that part of Wilmington and paid the larg- est taxes. It was in the time of the most prosperity of the Wilmington Glass company, and MT. Shaffer made good wages as glass blower and kept a fine team for the trucking, which he did for the company; and right here I recall pair of chestnut horses and his oldest daughter, Bethania, who married Moses l.. Dimock, and was an expert horse woman, and frequently rode around the square for an evening ride, and it took a spirited horse to unseat her from the saddle, and her IN Ao as a duck takes to water. I recall even now the immense loads of crates that he used to drive to Hartford, talk ing load of sand from Vernon on his return home. At that time MT. Shaffer drove to Hartford and Vernon, and MT. Still gathered the wood ashes for use in making the glass and took quite a circuit, going as far north as Palmer, Mass. and perhaps further. Returning to the fair, recall almost the first time when a trotting course was opened with a half-mile track laid out on the common, but horses were not trained for the race course as at the present day and prizes did not range among the thousands. remember how my neighbor, the late Philo Wright, who was then in part nership with the late Abel Johnson, Jr., had large bay horse that he drove in his meat wagon and he en- tered him for speed, not in a very high class of course, and as I recall it he only made the half-mile track. The wagons of those days were not designed for high speed-they were too heavy-so that even Dan Patch could not have been able to reach a two minute speed. I remember that MT. Wright made considerable sport. I do not see the Halls name in those interested in the grange. should think that Col. W. H. Hall, with MT. Tucker, could add interest to the work of the grange in trying to improve the methods of farming. I received a nice letter from Charles Merrick, son of my brother Timothy, a few days since, giving in some detail his ven- ture in the raising of apples in North Carolina. He has two orchards, one of 27 acres and one of 88 acres, with 22OO trees l 1 years old in good bear ing, to which he added last spring 1000 young trees and proposes to add 500 more next spring. The 22OO trees are in good bearing, clean and strong, but his crop last summer was very light, but what he had brought very high price, as high as $5 per barrel, and poor stuff 75c per bushel. He says that his orchard should in a fair season yield not less than 1000 barrels of merchantable apples. Apples in Minnesota are failure from over production, and farmers can hardly give them away and many have gone to waste on the ground.
 John Merrick.
 (The IS feet stalks of corn were ex- ceptional. The crop averaged 15 or 16 feet).
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