The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1913-09-18
VERMONT FARMS.
s.M Iaiii.ati.n ~ slat, fgh.icity
.luSi li,lftbmtssl.

'.bt second ol the more impofta 1
publications oi the pGDh,o. eva.
meat d the seen etag OF stAtcs ) On
i.se 10 oe .Saea tAls. year . "tei-
4..0nI raims' containing more than
1875 pages wh.ch has just come from
The press. The greater pait OF The
book is devoted 10 a setting forth an
4,ins AuegaUle detail of the resources
aad oppol tanites oi mont agfi-
culture. This is followed by ions
..st ul free adseftlsingS having u
oearing directly or indirectly upon
Vermont agriculture and by a last
4 233 farms aud residential proper
lies offered for sale representing
every one OF the fourteen counties
IN the State.
The book enueaNois TO coffect
some OF the prevailing miheoncep-
tlons regarding Vermont farming
One OF these is that Vermont
larms are small. and the census fig
ares are quoted to show that the
size OF the average Vermont farm IL
l42.G acres while the size OF the
average farm In the United States
- 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 censue
facts are quoted relating To area
population, value OF farm proper
crops, domestic animals, etc.
An interesting and valuable article
on Vermont soils by Prof. }. l..
Hills, Dean OF the Agricultural Col
lege of the University of Vermont,is
embodied in the text. This article,
prepared for the book by Professor
Hills. shows that there are practical
ly no abandoned farms in Vermont
with the exception OF certain area
that are better fitted by nature foi
forestry than for agricultural pur-
poses. He shows why Vermont soils
are more fertile than those OF some
other states and calls attention TO
the fact that Vermont is far III the
lead of other New England States In
the matter of agricultural advisers
and that few states in the uuion
are as well covered as Vermont in
this sort OF public service An alti-
Gle on expert aid for farmers writ
ten by Hon. E. S. Brigham. State
Commissioner of Agricultural,is lis quot
ed in this connection and shows
what excellent progress Vermont Is
making.
The subject of dairying is treatea
at considerable length and fac's and
figures are quoted from census re
ports and publications OF the United
State Department OF Agriculture
which show that taking into ac
count area and population Vermont
is the leading dairy state in the Tn
ion This state stands at the head
OF the list in the number OF COW
testing associations being tied with
New York for first place when Tn.
last report was made While exact
reports could not he obtained regard
ing the shipment Of milk outside OF
the state, reports from two OF the
leading railroads and estimates Tor
the third important railroad based on
the reports for the other two, IN
dlcate that in the year 1912 practi-
cally 5G,000,0OO quarts of milk and
2,SOO,00O quarts Of cream were
shipped out Of Vermont.
The opportunities for raising
beef cattle are also set forth.
A series of tables is published,tht
first of which shows that vermont
leads the Union in the ratio OF dairy
cows per population, having one
cow to 1.3 persons. The only states
that approaches this record are iowfs
Wisconsin and South Dakota with a
ratio OF one to 1.5. Vermont makes
a notable record In pounds OF butter
per capita, with record OF Soo
pounds. No other state approaches
this record. Only three states pro
duce half as much. Minnesota Win
sos pounds, Iowa with 57.2 pounas'
and Wisconsin with b6 pounds. Only
six states produce third as much
and only eight states produce a
fourth as much per capita as YER
mont Vermont's average produc
tion OF pounds Of butter per iarm
is 1,l12.6. Only four states pro-
duce half as much, only seven
states a r1lird as much, and only III
teen states fourth as much. Yer
mont leads the Union In average
number OF pounds OF butter pei
COW with 1898 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 quare mile
only two states lead Vermont.
Those persons who think Yer
mont farms are not fertile will do
well to pernse 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 bush
els OF corn per acre than Vermont
For the past four years the aver
age number OF states raising more
corn per acre than Vermont Is SIX
Vermont average yield for the -four
year period mentioned was nearly
twice the average yieid for the
whole country. The average price