The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-08-24
SOUTH RANDOLPH


sea and Innbridge Farmers association
meet az Brocklebank Tunbridge, last
Friday and ascended 20 the top Of th,
mountain in the Ford car that twic,
crossed the continent last summer the
first TO the top OF the mountain. One
other ear "a Ford driven By Earl De
lanu Of Randolph, yentured TO the top In
the afternoons all of the other cars and
nearly all the rse,drawn carriages
were content 10 stop their upward flight
az little more than half way 10 the
top, where the people ate their lunches
and finished the climb afoot to the top.
where they took in the fine scenery and
listened TO the short diseourses by Coun.
~ Agent Loyeland and State Organizer
Coryell. The day was hot, scarcely a
breath OF air was stirring, even at the
top of the mountain.
Your correspondent has attended
many picnics on the top OF this noun.
tain, some 20 or 30 years ago and il has
been usually too cool for comfort, even
in dog day weather. About 25 years ago
more than 1000 persons attended pie
mic there and among the speakers was
Col. Hooker OF Brattleboro. At that
time they were exploiting the granite
that lies about the foot of the noun.
tain. Granite was quarried here quite
extensively for seyerals years. Railroad
surveys were made to the quarries from
both the Central Vermont and passump.
sic roads, but IL was impossible to get
the necessary capital for building the
road, so quarrying stopped and the der
ricks have been allowed 20 rot down and
bushes have grown up all over the quar-
ries, hiding them from view.
At the foot OF the mountains are ex-
tensiye mari beds where some over one
half a century ago large quantities of
lime used to be burned One purpose of
the picnic was TO explore the mari beds. |
Most of the soil in this section of Yer
mont is deficient in lime tor the success
full raising OF the cloyers, alfalfa, etc.
This bed of lime is SO situated that il |
can be drawn on, a down grade to most
of the surrounding towns. Fifty years
ago there were living near these mari
beds some 25 families on % well titled |
farms with a naturally good soil; to-day
these lands are mostly vacant with
buildings mostly gone. Some hay is cut
but none OF it fenced for pasture. What
a chance for large sheep ranch Plenty
of water and feed. To-day fencing for
sheep is an easy and not costly job with
woven wire fence. Some of the mead
ows, lime being so handy here, could be
used 10 raise large crops OF alfalfa to
winter the sheep on Last summer on
our coast to-coast trip we passed through
many large sheep ranches where the wa
ter for the sheep had to be carried or
The sheep driven miles and miles when
they had any water to drink. No dew {
ialls there at night as here in the East,
80 the sheep, to live have to have drink |
ng water every day. No such condition
,xists here. Plenty of cold spring wa
er, brooks and plenty of dew on the
yrass in the morning, and more green
,rass on an acre here than on % acres of |
he western sheep ranches we saw In Ii
III the sheep ranches in the West the J
heep had to be guarded day and night s
rom the ravages of the coyotes or +
'rairie wolves, and other wild animals
Iere in the East late years one great S
menace TO sheep raising is the almost \
seless 'our dog They are getting to {
e too numerous and should be taxed \
Ut VI t8isbtHAt. l@tA lilt HtSI ltgistd- |
ure cut down the tax on useful auto
mobiles and raise the tax on useless
ogs. The old adage that every poor n
ian kept a dog and every d poor f
IAN kept two, is nearly true to-day. Il
he sheep and wool business, whether q
nder Republican or Democratic tariff, a
'oks bright for years to come. One G
ord as to what Speaker Coryell had to C
~ in his talk on the mount; he laid o
reat stress on what the farmers organ Al
ations of Vermont had done to help
lie Vermont farmers, among which was it
he adjustment of the long haul or the S
'nting of railroad cars for transporting IL
ilk to Boston markets. | am afraid -
ter Oct. ii will be found detriment :
, Vermont farmers whose milk goes to
oston. but it will help Massachusetts,
rmer5 near Boston and the railroads
no do the carrying. Somebody was
,oled."