The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-10-21
APPLE GROWING
EXPERIMENT ON
VI. HILLSIDE
Interesting Story of Farm
Development In Orange
County


Rowe is as follows:
1t was apple-picking time and we
were sitting around the big table
in the dining room on the Dimock
orchards farm. The girls, who had
been picking and sorting apples
all day, were discussing a poem.
One Of them quoted:
"My instep arch not only keeps
the archie.
It keeps the pressure of a ladder
round.
l feel the ladder sway as the
bougs bend.
And | keep hearing from the cell
lar bin,
The lumbling sound
OF )o"d on load Of apples coming
in"
From this discussion the con-
versation drifted to other books,
then back to apple picking, apple
marketing, potatoe inspection and
the new warehouse being built to
store the certified seed potatoes
which, with apples, constitute the
output of this farm.
The discussion certainly covered
a wide range of interests and was
typical of this farm home group.
This story can begin (as all
good stories should) with, Once
upon time" for properly to start
it. we must go back some ten years
to the time when Mr. and Mrs.
Dimock first began farming in
Vermont.
Before they started their work
on this farm near East Cornth,
Mr. Dimock had been a magazine
writer and illustrator and Mrs.
Dimock had taught in Simmons
college in Boston and had been
active in home economics extern
sion work in Vermont and New
York. Neither one of them had
experience which would fit them
for farming but both had Il real
love for the soil, a deep detelmin-
alton to succeed and plenty of
Hide-awake intelligence. Mr.. Dim
ock said that his lack of expert
ence was in one way an asset for
j. made him absolutely open mind
ed and entirely receptive to mod
ern ideas and methods. There was
nothing to unlearn and this was, In
itself, something Of an advantage.
The uimock Ordchards lie in a
narrow valley Of the Vermont hills
The nearest railroad station is
Bradford. From here, it is drive
OF about eight miles, winding con-
stantly up and up and in and out
among the hills, until a final steep
climb brings one out into the mar
row valley where the farm lies.
1t was fall when ! was there
Just the time when the hills, as
far as one could see, were clothed
in their most gorgeous autumn
colors. From the top of the hill
ore could see for down the valley;
across the hills on the far side lay
range after range of hills with the
blue haze of Indian summer soft
ening their outlines; on the slope
OF the hill near the house stood a
huge maple which was a perfect
blaze Of color 1t seemed as
though, at night, this maple must
light up the whole valley like a
magnificent torch.
The principal products of the
Dimock orchards farm are apples
and certified seed potatoes. The
orchards lie on the slopes of the
hills and the one field of potatoes
which is on the home farm, lies
at the top Of the hill opposite the
house. When the present owners
bought the orchard there were
about five hundred trees in them
but they were old and had been
allowed to rundown, Now there
are some three thousand trees on
the place, five hundred old trees,
five hundred just coming into bear
ing and about two thousand very
young trees. They aim eventually
to have about four thousand
more.
For more than three years, the
work on the Dimock farm has been
done largely by girls who are in
tcrested in the actual production
end of farm life. They call them
selves falmerettes. The farmer.
cite idea started during the war
when our men were on "the other
side" The first group of girls on
this farm We're secured through
the Women's Land Army of Am
erica. There has been no reason
for regret as to this experiment
and it promises to become per
manent feature.
Through their desire to give a
practical opportunity to girls who
see a real profession for them
selves in agriculture, Mr.. and Mrs.
D'"'o"' have brought together a
remarkable band of cowCrkers.
.u,u4,l u the wartime group are
still with them and are being in
stalled as responsible heads of
various departments of the farm
work. The young women have
taken over the trust committed to
them with a vim and almost 4 pro-
prietaly interest in the success of
the farm.
Mildred Smith, who has charge
of marketing the apples, is young
college woman who studied at
Chicapo university and the UniVer-