Chap. 10. 



STATE OF SOCIETY. 



21; 



AGRICULTURE. 



AGRICULTUEAL PRODUCTIONS. 



MANUFACTURKS. 



Section IV. 

 Agriculture. 



Agriculture gives employment to the 

 great body of the people of Vermont. 

 While suitable numbers are devoted to 

 the various trades and professions, which 

 are rendered necessary by the immediate 

 wants of society, six-sevenths of the 

 whole population are engaged in agricul- 

 tural pursuits ; and it is pleasing to ob- 

 serve the gradual improvement, which 

 tliis art is undergoing in Vermont, and 

 the great advance which it has made, 

 within a few years past, in the public 

 estimation. The time has been, when 

 the professional men, the merchants and 

 even a portion of the mechanics in this 

 state were wont to look down (down ?) 

 with feelings borderingon contempt upon 

 the farmer and his employment. And 

 the farmer himself, ignorant, or insensible 

 of his own advantages, submitted to live 

 in a state of vassalage to the other classes, 

 and particularly, to the merchants. But 

 for several years past there has been a 

 gradual change going on in the relative 

 condition of the merchant and the farm- 

 er. Or, in other words, the farmers have 

 l)eeu learning, (and we hope they will 

 not forget the leysoii,) that they are the 

 only class of community, who possess 

 the elements of independence, and, relj'- 

 ing upon these, they have been by de- 

 grees freeing themselves from their thral- 

 dom and rising in their relation to the 

 other orders of society, until agricultural- 

 ists and farmers are become titles of 

 which none are now ashamed. 



Ifitbetrue that the borrower is servant 

 to the lender, it is empliatically true 

 tliet the debtor is servant to the creditor ; 

 and in this relation, but a few years ago, 

 stood a large jjart of our farmers to the 

 merchants. The merchants sold upon 

 credit, and must necessarily sell at a 

 ninch higher price than for ready paj', to 

 compensate for bad debts and for lying 

 out of the use of their money. The farm- 

 ers, buying upon credit, bought more and 

 at much higher prices than they would 

 have done, if ready pay had been deman- 

 ded. The consefjuence was that at tiie 

 end of the 3'ear the}' found themselves 

 more deeplv in debt than they expected, 

 and were obliged to turn out their stock 

 and produce at tlie merchant's jirice 

 and give their notes of Jiand for the bal- 

 ance in money. The notes and accounts 

 became due and resort was had to the 

 law to enforce payment. This gave em- 

 ployment to swarms of lawyers and petti- 

 foogers,whos(,' fees, added to the demands 

 of the creditors, were wrung out of the 



hard earnings of the ill-starred farmer. 

 Weighed down by accumulated embar- 

 rassments and goaded by the twigs of the 

 law, the harrassed people looked upon the 

 legal profession as the prolific fountain of 

 all their suflerings, and upon lawyers as a 

 curse — a very pest in society. 



During the embarrassments which pre- 

 vailed for many years after the close of 

 the revolution, 'they who were in distress, 

 they who were in debt, and they who 

 were discontented frequently gathered 

 themselves ' in conventions to consult 

 together respecting their grievances 

 and devise plans of relief. At these 

 meetings it was considered a legitimate 

 and an indispensible part of their 

 business to adopt a series of resolu- 

 tions, denouncing the lawyers in terms 

 neither mild nor measured. J3ut at length 

 more correct views began to prevail. 

 The people began to discover that their 

 embarrassments and troubles were charge- 

 able rather upon themselves than upon 

 the hated lawyers ; and in proportion as 

 they have improved their advantages, by 

 their industry, economy and avoidance- 

 of debt, has the prejudice against the legal 

 profession been done away and the occu- 

 pation of the agriculturist risen in public 

 estimation, till an exchange of the former 

 for the latter has come at length to be 

 considered no degradation. 



The chief agricultural productions of 

 the state may be learned from the follow- 

 ing abstract of the returns of the census 

 of 1S40. 



Wheat, bu=li. 495,F00iCocoons, lbs. 4,980 



Ifye do , 230,99;) Wax, lbs. 4,(i60 



Corn do ],I]9,G78 Product Dairy $2,003,737 



Outs do 2,2*2,584 do Orcliaid 213,944 



liuckwhRat do 228,4113 do Garden 16,270 



Barley do 54,781 do Nurseries, etc. 5,600 



Potatoes do 3,869,751 Iloi.ses 62,402 



Hay, tons, 869,739 Neat Cattle 384'341 



Hops, 11)9. 48,137 .Sheep 1,681:81» 



'J'obacco, lbs. 585 Swine 203.800 



Fla.x, lbs. ."^g.UOO I Poultry, value ^laij.WS 



Wine, rralloiis 94 Lumber $346.9311 



Wool, ibs. 3,699,235 lOther prod, forest 2,500- 



The above productions, with the excep- 

 tion of wool, products of the dairy, horses, 

 cattle, sheep, swine, and lumber, of whicii 

 considerable quantities are exported, arc 

 nearly all consumed in thp state. For 

 several years past, wool has been the 

 staple production for market. 



Section V. 



Manufactures. 



The manufactures carried on in Ver- 

 mont were, for many j'ears, such only as 

 the immediate wants of the people ren- 

 dered indispensable, and in general each 



