St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-11-24

for his service and though they might
consult a lawyer or a physician ever
for others benefit would expect tc
| pay. If they bought food supplies
from the grocer or clothes from the
clothier for sweet Charity's sake, they
would expect to foot the bill. 1t Is
only the newspaper editor who is ex-
pected to give newspaper space. the
only commodity he has to sell, because
i it indirectly benefits someone some
where. If he has any space left over
which no one wants, he might sell
that. The fact of deaths, births and
marriages and local happenings are
news and get free notice in our paper
but obituaries. long marriage accounts
and like matters are paid matter. We
are glad to give a certain amount OF
space to philanthropy. but we have to
neglect some copy which comes even
under this head, for lack of room. All
business has it's peculiar trouble and
please publish this as news" is con-
l'siderable part of the editor s.-Brad-
! ford Opinion.
Is Vermont Agriculture Awakened?
That Vermont apples carried off ma
fny prizes at the recent exhibition in
Boston is very gratifying to those who
| have been trying to stimulate an inter
est in orcharding in the state and to
all those who are looking for a re-
building of Vermont agriculture. The
mountainous character of the state
makes much of the land unavailable
flor profitable cultivation. 1t is better
suited for growing timber than for
the raising of crops. So the state has
acquired large tracts of land in various
sections and has entered upon forest
Onr~iV7 &c or oh fO
the farmers in the vicinity.
Then, too, the interests of the state
have not been at any time distinctive
ly agricultural. The early settlers did
not come here to engage in farming.
They were shrewd Yankees, looking
for profits in the sale of land, in man
ufactures and in trading. Ira Allen
formed the Onion River Land Com
tpany soon after he came into the state,
and was at one time estimated to be
worth a million dollars tremendous
fortune at that time. These early set
tiers cleared the land, burned the
great naples for the potash they could
sell profitably in Canada, damned the
little streams and built small factories
all along them, and began their activi-
ties as a manufacturing rather than as
an agricultural people. They cultiva
I0Q the lduO DIS d 1I1dlISI VI nSCSSolLy
Markets were scarce and means of con-
veyance few and crude, so the susten-
ance of their families had to come
principally from the soil. But that
was incidental Their manufacturing
and trading interests were most inn
portant, and at the time the first CEN
Sus was taken the list of Vermont man
ufactures was a long and interesting
one.
Various reasons prevented the de-
velopment that was expected. During
1.-THE Civil War; when the price of all
products was high. the farms were
more attractive than ever before; but
after the war there was a great migra-
ton to the West, and the value of
farms decreased with the decline in the
price of products. Vermont farming
went on in the old half hearted, hap
hazard way; but in recent years,
through the state board of agriculture
the state agricultural college and
farmers organizations there has come
a new interest in the use of Vermont
farm land. That land lying in the
river valleys is some of the most fer
tile in the world, and properly man
aged will produce crops equal to any
in the country. In fact, Vermont
leads the country in the production OF
some agricultural crops.
Dairying is the most important
phase of farming at present and YER
mont has more milk testing stations
than any other New England state.
The state is dotted with creameries,
and train after train leaves every
morning carrying milk and cream to
the Boston market. The Vermont
stock is principally Jersey or grade
Jersey, and the milk is rich in butter
fat, so that it commands a ready sale.
The raising of beef cattle is being
urged as a profitable undertaking and
a general crop production, instead of
reliance on the dairy. A Vermont
farmer this year has raised a crop of
potatoes showing a greater yield per
acre than the Aroostook land, which
is supposed to be specially adapted to
that crop. In fact there is hardly
anything that cannot be raised in the
state, and Vermont farmers are now
applying themselves diligently to learn
for what use their land is best adapted
and to apply it to that Richford
Gazette.
Show Vermont Pictures.