424 REPORT OP THE CpMMISSIONER 01' AGRICULTURE. 



VERMONT. 



The third biennial repvOrt of the State Board of Agriculture, Manu- 

 factures, and Mining, for 1875 and 1876, contains, in addition to official 

 records, no less than fifty distinct papers on subjects pertaining to vari- 

 ous phases of the three branches over which the board has supervision. 

 Most of these are necessarily brief, as they are included in a vokime of 

 700 pages. One of the longest and perha^JS most valuable is an illus- 

 trated article on insects injurious to the potato and the apple. The re- 

 lated subjects of farm-management and farmers are discussed in no less 

 than seven separate essays ; mattei'.s pertaining to dairy-husbandry in 

 five J the horse, in four ; sheep -husbicndry and the grass crop each in 

 three. Among the other topics preseUi^.ed are fertilization, fruit-culture, 

 horticulture, bee-culture, poultry-keepiog, application of " the sand- 

 blast" in lettering head-stones for the national cemeteries, the potato- 

 disease, sanitary reform, water-power iu Vermont, report of the State 

 geologist, and, not least, " the merits of Vermont." 



The secretary alludes to the work of the l^>oard during its brief exist- 

 ence in arousing attention and securing the co-operation of the farmers 

 of the State in many needed reforms. Duri;),g the year 1875 the Board 

 held seventeen public meetings in diflerent localities, at which papers 

 were read and addresses delivered, followed by discussion of the topics 

 presented. 



The analyses of artificial fertilizers, by Prof. Peter Collier, under the 

 direction of the Board, are still prosecuted. In e\vidence of the benefit of 

 this work, it is stated that as a result the average value of the fertilizers 

 oflered in the market has been advanced 33 per cont. 



Discussions on dairying, the great interest of the State, occupy a large 

 space. Among other topics worthy of special notice are those relating 

 to grass-raising and the introduction of new forage-plants ; the seeding 

 of land, and the genuineness, purity, and vitality of seeds ; and stock- 

 raising, food-rations, and the comparative value of difiereut kinds of 

 food. 



Mr. Gardner S. Fassett, in an article on the selection of cows for the 

 dairy, gives the results of some interesting experiments* made with the 

 milk of different cows. He states that he owns a high-grade Jersey 

 heifer that exhibits as. good a percentage of cream iu one hour, when 

 the milk is set iu test-tubes, as at any time thereafter. He also owns a 

 fine-grade Ayrshire cow, eight years old, the milk of which shows the 

 best percentage of cream in about twenty-four hours after \t is drawn. 

 In order to satisfy hunself as to the facility with which buttar could be 

 made from the milk of difierent cows, he selected the cream from these 

 two cows with v.'hich to make the experiment. The milk, crean:, butter, 

 and buttermilk of each cow were separately and carefully weighed, and 

 the time required to churn each noted. The experiment was made on 

 the 2od day of October last, when the cows were in the barn at hay, 

 having two quarts each of oats per day. 



The Ayrshire cow gave 22 pounds 4 ounces of milk 5 weight of cream, 

 2 pounds ; time in churning, 40 minutes ; weight of butter, 1 pou/id 1 

 ounce; weight of buttermilk, 15 ounces. Buttermilk appeared rich, as 

 though there were butter-globules left in it. The Jersey heifer, two 

 years old, gave 10 pounds 8 ounces of milk ; weight of cream, 1 pound 

 4 ounces; time of churning, 20 minutes; weight of butter, 12 ounces; 

 of buttermilk, 8 ounces. This buttermilk, ho states, was as blue as 

 skimmed milk. 



The next day he mixed the milk of the two cows. Weight of milk, 



